The cost of living is outstripping income for many people, a trend that is causing a good portion of millennials to put off buying a home. A potential solution to this problem: the tiny house. A tiny house is usually less than 500-square-feet with space for less than four people. Though small, it can still feature a living room, sleeping lofts, a bathroom, and a kitchen/dining area.

Factors like student debt are weighing heavily on the millennial home buying equation. Students who graduated two years ago have an average of $37,172 in debt, a number that jumped six percent in just one year. Fifty-five percent of millennials said that student debt was an obstacle when it came to saving up for a home.

In January 2018, the median home price in Chicago was $265,000. On the other hand, the price of a DIY tiny home is approximately $23,000, according to Loop North News. Even if you look at the typical retail price of a tiny home — $75,000 or more —  it is still significantly lower than the median price of a detached home or a condo. Additionally, 68 percent of people who live in a tiny house do not have a mortgage, while just 29.3 percent of homeowners in the U.S. have no mortgage, according to The Tiny Life. 

Tiny homes could make homeownership closer than millennials think. Plus, the smaller footprint and optional sustainability features like solar panels and recycled rainwater could add to the appeal. 

Plans for Tiny Houses in Chicago

Rendering courtesy of Gorman & Co.

Tiny Houses have also been touted as a potential solution to homelessness. Nonprofit Chicago Tiny House held a fundraiser in Uptown at the beginning of the year in an effort to build a prototype house, according to CBS Chicago. Chicago may even do a tiny home pilot run to help the homeless, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

If tiny houses come to Chicago, whether as a homelessness solution or homebuyer option, where would they go? Loop North News points to the estimated 10,000 vacant lots on the South Side of the city.

Tiny houses are even being floated as a possibility in the suburbs. Villa Park might get a planned tiny home development, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. Bob Clarizio, the founder of Titan Tiny Homes, is hoping the suburb will allow a tiny home development on a 12,500-square-foot site. Titan tiny homes cost between $36,000 and $59,800, according to the report. The company has sold a number of homes in states like California, Indiana, and Iowa. 

In order for all of this to happen, Villa Park and Chicago would need to allow some changes in building codes and rules. For example, Villa Park requires new homes to be built with a two-car garage, which quickly surpasses the size of a typical tiny home.