You might have heard of the Tiny House Movement, where many people have downscaled to compact homes facilitating a stripped-down way of living.
As a provider of tiny homes for sale in NZ, we have a lot of positive to say about these modest residences. However, we also acknowledge that they aren’t for everyone. This is why we have decided to prepare in-depth answers to the following important questions about tiny homes.
What is it Like to Live in a Tiny Home?
This kind of house has been designed to provide little more than living essentials. When you have a smaller amount of residential space, you can more easily keep it tidy and organised. You can also live closer to nature — so much so that it starts to feel like an extension of your home.
What Kinds of People Would Enjoy ‘Tiny Living’?
If you are the outdoor type and love the idea of regularly exercising in the open air, a tiny home could enable you to embrace this lifestyle quite like never before.
The ‘tiny home’ concept could also pique your interest if you find modern urban life stressful and are consequently eager to practice minimalism in a bid to regain your bearings.
Conversely, if you prefer to spend much of your time indoors and would be frustrated by having to spend much of your time in the same room as someone else, tiny living could easily grate. It might also be a bad idea if you are clumsy and so could be prone to banging into bits and pieces of a narrow space.
What Size is a ‘Tiny’ Home?
There is no hard and fast rule here, but on average, a tiny home with just one bedroom is about 20 square metres. Meanwhile, the average size is more like 25 square metres if a second bedroom is included. Adding a third bedroom can see the home’s size exceed 30 square metres.
If you do have a tiny home built for yourself, you should make sure it is carefully designed to incorporate all of the elements you know would be crucial for your needs. Of course, you should also factor in needs of anyone else who will be inhabiting the building with you.
This is why you can choose from a wide range of design options with our tiny homes for sale in NZ. To learn more about how we are able to customise a compact residence’s interiors and layouts to your specifications, please contact us by phoning (+64) 021 804 238 or emailing [email protected].
Naturally, as a passionate builder of tiny homes for sale in NZ, we believe in tiny homes and have a lot of positives to say about these modest residences. However, we acknowledge that they aren’t for everyone. This is why we have prepared this detailed Guide, ‘What you need to know before buying a tiny home.’
We feel it is important for you to have an honest and realistic understanding of what’s involved. Your inner voice is probably saying things such as;
‘What size is a tiny home and can I live in it…. Let’s face it, it is a small space and my husband/wife can drive me crazy and we currently live in a big house.’
These types of queries are normal and healthy and it means you are seriously thinking ‘is tiny home living going to work for me/us?’ Then there are the other questions; cost of a tiny home, finance, permits, etc.
This guide will start you thinking about what you need to know before buying a tiny home. We cover:
- What is it like living in a tiny home?
- Living on your own
- Living with others
- The secret to successfully living in a tiny home
- How big are tiny homes?
- What size is right for you
- Scalability
- Possibilities of moving a tiny home
- How much is a tiny house (including the hidden costs)
- Cost of land
- Site suitability assessment and preparation
- Cost of a tiny house (our Absolute Tiny Homes)
- Transport cost
- Power options and costs
- What permits do I need for a tiny home
- How to finance your tiny home
- How to get started
OK let’s start with you.
What is it like living in a tiny home?
Tiny home living on your own.
It is going to be different for everyone. Some of you will be looking at a tiny home post separation or divorce, and you may cry on your couch or dance in your lounge room or both. For some of you, it will be your first home, while others may seek independence or want to live an off-grid lifestyle. Some of you will want a low-maintenance house that you to lock up while you travel.
Regardless of the reasons guiding you towards going solo in your very own tiny home, it is yours, your decisions, and your freedom to create your spaces. You can and will leave your shoes on the floor and trip over them. You can create amazing architectural structures of dishes in the sink; all without criticism. However, the reality is that there is no one else to blame for the shoes and to clean the dishes for you. Soon you will run out of forks and coffee cups. And then…
You will create spaces for yourself,
for the things that are important to you.
This is the secret.
You need to start thinking about what’s important to you and plan to create those spaces in your tiny home.
Soon, you will have a favorite place for your morning coffee and breakfast. A place to keep your favorite things either on display and/or handy and what gets put away, e.g. shoes in a narrow shoe cupboard. If you want a dishwasher, make sure to talk to your builder about that.
You will create new habits, sooner rather than later. You will love your simpler life and the freedom that comes with it.
Tiny home living with others.
Again, it will be different for everyone.
Are you creating a home with your partner? Perhaps moving in with your sister, elderly parent, or best friend? Are you; retiring, downsizing, or planning to kick the kids out of the family home (as they won’t leave), sell up, and build a tiny home as your base that you can return to from your travels? True, the bit about the kids not leaving home… it happens…
First things first, you need to understand – does everyone involved want to do this tiny home thing? Talk about it and respect each other’s views and concerns. If you don’t, it probably won’t work.
Secondly, discuss how best to communicate your likes and dislikes. Going back to my earlier comment.
‘It is a small space and my husband can drive me crazy and we currently live in a big house.’
After I had downsized, my girlfriends said to me, ‘I don’t know how you can live in such a small space with your husband. I couldn’t live with mine in such a small space.’
My reply was,
‘I can be equally annoyed with my husband in a big space or a small space.’
It is true. I can honestly say living in a small space has taught us both to be better communicators. It does not mean we are good communicators all the time. It does mean we are better at communicating our needs. Seven years later, I still need to get better at putting my watercolors away. The wet paint and paper need to dry… right? And he needs to… I will stop there…
The reality is we have to communicate with each other sooner rather than later, otherwise we will resent each other’s actions. Does not mean we have all the answers, but it does mean we can work on solutions together. He is still trying to buy me art storage boxes. I keep saying no… Why? Because I am looking for the right one.
The way forward is to understand what is important to each other and how you all want to use the space.
Are you a morning person, are you an evening person, are you an indoors person, are you an outdoors person? And your partner or family members, what are their preferences and needs? Don’t assume this, discuss this. Especially if you are downsizing or moving toward retirement. Do you need a toys and tool shed, a mud room, a deck, a deck with a BBQ, etc? Now, back inside, do you need one desk, two desks, or more. What are they going to be used for?
Understand what is important for each of you.
Discuss how you can make this work in your tiny home.
The secret to successfully living in a tiny home living.
Design your home with a clear understanding of what is important for you and your family.
Create spaces for what’s important.
This is the secret.
You must tell your builder what your needs are. The right builder will work through these things with you. The view with the morning coffee, the fold away desk, your cat flap, where your pet food bowl goes. Trust me these discussions may seem small, but it is the attention to the little things that make a big difference.
So, do you think you could live in a tiny home? What size is right for you?
How big is a tiny home?
As far as tiny home size goes, there are no hard and fast rules here. Here at Absolute Tiny Houses our most popular designs are our 10.8m x 3m. They come in just over 30m2. Even though we offer smaller homes everyone goes for this size.
In this size, you can opt for, a 1 or 2-bedroom home. Each contains 1 bathroom and an open floor plan kitchen lounge area. We have 6 different layouts to choose from.
You will get an even better idea by checking out our floor plans.
From there to know what tiny homes look like inside, check out our home page videos. Real homes with real people.
How much is a tiny house (including the hidden costs)
All glossy brochures will tell you your home will cost X amount of dollars. The cost of the home is just the starting point. There are more costs.
Like most providers, we have three price points:
- A watertight shell, for the DIYers.
- Standard fit out, and
- Custom fit out.
The real equation is:
Cost of Land + Cost of home + Site prep + Transport + Services = Your tiny home.
Let’s break that down.
Cost of land
This includes purchase price, and legal fees if you choose to use a lawyer.
We do not find or sell land.
Land suitability and access
You may need to pay to have your block assessed for suitability to build on and delivery access. You want to ensure that you can transport your beautiful new home to your gorgeous section.
Cost of our Absolute Tiny Homes
Here are our tiny home prices (November 2024)
| Size | Weather tight | Standard | Custom | Description |
| 10.8m x 3m
(our most popular size) |
$61,990 | $79,990 | $169,990
(based on recent full custom builds) |
1 bedroom home (4 designs)
2 bedroom home (2 designs) |
| 9.6m x 3m | $60,990 | $75,990 | Subject to inclusions | 1 bedroom home (3 designs) |
| 8.4m x 2.4m | $57,990 | $69,990 | Subject to inclusions | 1 bedroom home (6 designs) |
| 7.2m x 2.4m | $56,990 | $66,990 | Subject to inclusions | 1 bedroom home (6 designs) |
| 6m x 2.4m | $55,990 | $62,990 | Subject to inclusions | A kitchen, lounge bathroom unit |
| 4.1m x 2.4m | $29,990 | – | – | Add space to your home, e.g. a extra bedroom, workshop, mud room etc |
Cost of site preparation
The cost of site preparation will be subject to the amount of civil work that needs to be done. Is it just a pad or are footings required? Are you planning on permanently placing your tiny home or keeping her mobile?
If you wish to secure your home on footings, you may need to get a geologist to produce soil reports before designing and preparing your slab and footings.
These expenses will be between you and the contractor. After all, you don’t want a geologist (a rock doctor) building your home. We stick with what we do best.
Cost of transportation
Transportation is a factor of distance. Indicative transportation costs (2024) for our 10.8m x 3m tiny home, are:
- Auckland = $2,900.00
- Whangarei = $4,500.00
- Hamilton = $3,100.00
- Tauranga = $3,500.00
- Wellington = $9,000.00
- Nelson = $12,000.00
- Christchurch = $14,000.00
- Queenstown = $15,000.00
- Invercargill = $17,000.00
Cost of power
You have options here:
Option 1 – Connecting to local suppliers.
If power:
- is already available on the site, then it could be as simple as a connection fee
- needs to be installed, you will need to go to the local providers for a quote.
Option 2: – Going off the grid.
Going off the grid ranges from
- $10,000* for a 2.4kW solar system to
- $18,000* for a 10.1kW solar system
Note these prices include GST and exclude installation costs. Again, these expenses will be between you and the contractor.
What permits do I need for a tiny home?
If you choose to secure your tiny home to your section, you will need to comply with your local council regulations. Consequently, there will be applicable costs. If you know where you want to live you can start researching your local councils’ requirements to gain an idea of fees and processes included in your build and budget planning.
OK now, that I have scared you with the costs, (including the hidden costs) here’s the good news; just like a normal home, you can get finance for your tiny home.
How to get Finance for your tiny home
The best way to go about this is to do research, lots of research. Start by talking to your local bank and finance brokers. Compare interest rates. This task, although tedious will save you money. Some of you will be able to borrow against equity, some will sell and then build, and some may opt for bridging finance.
One of the cool things about a tiny home is that you can gradually add to your home. Start small and add. This means you can stage your costs and move towards your goals as time and money permit.
Take Tess for example:
She and her husband are talking about, starting with the main home and power setup and the all-essential deck, then adding his shed and her art studio later. They are planning for their second retirement. First, they must find the land. It is a fun (and at times frustrating) journey.
Your next steps
Congratulations, you have got here… I have not scared you off.
What we have given you is a guide. A guide based on our homes at Absolutely Tiny Homes. With real 2024 costs. The next step is up to you.
You:
- think you can live in a tiny home? Woohoo – congratulations.
- have not run away at the costs, well done!
- may have even started looking at sections (and got a little excited).
(This is a roller coaster, I know. But this is important, you will find your gem at the right price…keep looking). - have already started thinking about what size tiny home you want.
From here, call Michael and discuss what is important to you in your tiny home and he can give you the real figures for the tiny home that meets your dreams.
What are you waiting for… your dream tiny home is waiting for you to make it a reality. Call Michael now.
