Small House Movement

[Skook]

Very interesting post once again, Nola.

Last year, I began reading about the “Tiny House Movement” in the U.S. and it seems to be gathering momentum. Only 4 days ago, the BBC offered its own take on it and you can read that that April 11th story ‘Americans construct tiny houses – and new lives.’

One of the web sites I came across last year was ‘Tumbleweed Tiny House Company’ and personally I like these homes. I grew up in a very small home and when I settled down in the Pender Harbour I was in a small home. The maximum size home I would ever want would be 1000sf tops.

I honestly think the vast majority of Millennials (generation “Y” - born early 1980s to early 2000s) will eschew the large homes of their parents’ generation for a number of reasons: first, of course, is they can’t afford to buy the homes; second, as energy prices rise, the homes with their dance floor size bedrooms, spa-like bathrooms and large open concept living areas will become immensely expensive to heat and maintain and it’s important to note that property taxes are based on covered space and in the McMansions so much of that space is wasted; third, the “Ys” are more environmentally conscience and believe in reducing their carbon footprint; forth, the technology the “Ys” embrace is decreasing exponentially in size with each passing year. With their smartphones, iPads, and applications and data storage in the cloud, everything can be tucked away in a drawer.

Back in the early 1990s, I worked at a catering company in Edmonton and we did an open house at a new development which offered the first of these huge homes. It was the first time I had seen a home with a built-in intercom system so you could communicate with others in different parts of the house. I came away shaking my head; only 12 or so years later, that size home would be considered the “norm.” They made their way to the Sunshine Coast by the mid-2000s and the real estate boom meant young families were taking on half million dollar or more mortgages. I’ve said this before in previous posts I cannot understand why in the recent past those retiring and moving to the coast would be opt for these huge homes. However, looking at the homes sold in the past year, I think the trend is now changing.

Based on what I have written above, this is why I cannot understand why the new Silverstone Heights development has chosen to offer homes in the 1605 - 2616sf range. My thought is the 1605sf should have been the max (that size still carries a price tag of $479,900 including GST). Since there have been no sales after 6 months of listing, perhaps others are beginning to think the same.