Tiny Home Market?

[RIck Montanari]

Hey everyone,

New member here and as my first post I'd like to pose a question about the tiny house market. Let start of with a bit of background....

I'm a local metro Denver Realtor who has been licensed for less than a year and been with my brokerage (Dwell Denver Real Estate) since April/May 2014. Over the previous 12 months I've been educating myself on the local Denver market which has lead me to BP. 

Over the last few months I've become highly interested in investing, specifically flipping but also rentals, wholesales, buy & hold etc... That being said I'm starting at ground zero with little to no money and no experience whatsoever. I've recently approached my father, who has had some experience in flipping as well as new construction, about the possibilities of partnering for my first flip here in Denver. *Sidenote: My family lives in Connecticut which is where I grew up which means accessibility is an obstacle. 

We've discussed the tiny home market for some time as it is what I want to get into personally and have even attended workshops in Boulder and Colorado Springs to further quench my interest. Anyway, in discussing the possible flipping partnership with my father he mentioned an idea that I thought might be a good topic of discussion for the BP community. 

In a nutshell the idea is to buy a small plot of land somewhere within Denver/Boulder/Jefferson county, build a tiny home (400-600+sq ft) and list it. He thinks that there is a market, especially within Colorado, that makes it worthwhile. I'm involved and interested in the tiny house community here, however as a local Realtor I'm skeptical about it being attractive to buyers and would rather put the time and capital into rehabbing and flipping. I do believe in finding a niche market but I'm not sure that this is the right start. 

I'm also aware of the issues involved in building a tiny home in certain counties and everything that comes along with it. 

Anyway, if anyone has suggestions, comments or ideas about this let me know. 

Thanks!

[Troy Sheets]

Welcome! My immediate thought is, unless you're building the really tiny houses (~200 sq/ft) I've seen on trailers that are still "mobile" so you get around most/all building codes, many of your costs will still be the same. Land acquisition, permits, foundation, utilities, architect, and on and on but without the additional benefit of profit on the larger sq/ft you'd be selling. In short, it probably costs nearly the same (relatively speaking) to build a 600 sq/ft house as it does to build a 1200 sq/ft house but you get much less spread. I know, materials are double but the materials that double are flooring, paint, drywall, etc. You're still putting in a kitchen, bath, HVAC, electrical, etc. which are your larger cost items. Adding a bedroom or two is much cheaper per sq/ft than kitchens and baths. Hope I'm making sense?