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Published January 31, 2017
So you binge-watched "Tiny House Hunters" and "Tiny House, Big Living" until you can't watch any more, and you've decided to go for it: You want to trade down from the average 2,400-square-foot home to a mini version of just 400 square feet or less.
There's no doubt, tiny houses are hugely popular not only because they're cute and environmentally friendly, but also because they're cheaper to maintain. In fact, if you're at all handy, you might have even considered curbing your expenses by building one yourself.
So how much does it cost to build a tiny house, compared with a traditional home?
Cost to build a tiny house
Teri Page, aka Homestead Honey, who built a 348-square-foot home in Missouri and blogs about tiny-house construction costs, estimates that the average payout for a 200-square-foot home runs from $25,000 to $35,000.
That said, costs can vary widely beyond that ballpark. Page's house cost only $8,270 to build. But her neighbor's even tinier 120-square-foot home cost more than double that amount, at $21,200. Page breaks down the line items to consider, which account for the price fluctuation:
Not so handy? Try tiny-house kits
If you're worried you don't have the DIY chops to build a tiny home from scratch, you can also buy a tiny-house kit which comes with instructions, prefab materials or some variation thereof to keep your floundering to a minimum.
Tiny-house kits even come in varying levels of ability. At Tiny Living by 84 Lumber, for instance, you can buy a bare-bones DIY kit for $6,884, which comes with blueprints, a customized trailer on which to build, and a list of materials to buy. Or for $19,884, you can get the semi-DIY version which comes with the shell of the house on top of a trailer complete with doors, windows, and a shower, leaving just the interior and exterior finishing touches to you.
Both DIY kits definitely beat buying the same model move-in ready for $49,884, but you should weigh carefully whether you're biting off more than you can chew -- because a tiny house is, after all, still a house.
https://www.foxnews.com/real-estate/how-much-does-it-cost-to-build-a-tiny-house