How Much Money Does It Cost To Buy A Tiny House On Amazon?

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With housing prices skyrocketing across cities in the U.S., inflation eroding what purchasing power valuable dollar savings had, and demand for homes far outpacing supply, tiny houses are becoming more of an attraction beyond just a love for cottages. A tiny house could be the solution to the fear of being stuck in a mortgage/rent trap, letting you become a homeowner without forking out the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars, you need to own a home in today's America.

Tiny houses have been around for a while, but they were popularized as an online sale option in 2019 when Allwood Outlet began to sell its DIY studio cabin kit on Amazon for about $7,250. Even though it was little more than a wooden box, designed to be a DIY outdoor home improvement, it was immediately popular and sold out quickly. This made it clear to other manufacturers that such things were possible to sell on platforms like Amazon and Home Depot, and we've had many tiny home listings ever since.

The cost for these houses ranges widely on Amazon. For livable options, you can get an ultra-budget prefab option for as low as $5,000 when on sale, but they usually start about $10,000 on Amazon. With that price, you could get a 40-foot kit, which can expand to about 300 square feet, or a 13x20 ft medium-sized "tiny" house. If you want it to come with fixtures and more space, the prices can balloon as high as $75,000, and that's before factoring in the cost of labor or delivery.

What makes the more expensive tiny houses more attractive than their cheaper counterparts is that you're no longer buying just a glorified shed. Now, you can get something with real rooms, stairs, proper bathrooms and kitchens, and sometimes even a rooftop terrace or a patio. For instance, an Allwood Timberline Kit, which usually goes for about $40,200, spreads to 483 square feet and comes with one main floor, divided into a living area, kitchen, and a bedroom. It also has a loft area on the second floor, which could work as another bedroom. All of this also comes with a nice front porch and good curb appeal.

However, you would probably get more value from buying one of the metal container expandable prefab homes for that price. Unlike wooden shells (like the ones Allwood sells), they usually come with outlets, wiring, insulation, and other important home features. There's one SEQ Prefab Container House going for about $45,000 on Amazon, 40x20 feet in size, that promises two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a rooftop terrace. It comes with insulation, fire and water resistance, and you can also choose how you want it customized. The real value, though, is that you also buy a fully equipped kitchen, including cabinets, a sink, and a mixer tap. The bathroom is also fully equipped with cabinets, a water heater, a toilet, a sink, a mirror, and a private shower area.

On the surface, a tiny house might just be the thing for you: It's compact, it's cheap, and it can be set up really quickly. The issue, however, is that there are usually many hidden costs. One major item that may have already occurred to you is land — this is likely going to be your biggest cost. You can't just assemble your home on any piece of land you find; you'll have to have either ownership or a lease, and the value of land follows demand the same way fully built houses do. Next, you'll need to consider how much the base or foundation costs. Cabin kits and similar usually require concrete slabs or piers — which can cost a few thousand dollars at a minimum to do a decent and safe job that might last decades.

Then, there's labor to consider. All the options on Amazon you're likely going to peruse won't offer you free assembly. Many sellers will say the work is easy to assemble, but that's relative to how much experience, tools, or know-how you have. You don't have a house if it's just a metal container that's not hooked up to utilities, or pieces of wood lying around as an abandoned project. Labor and other support materials for a house you'll live in can also cost you anything from $5,000 to $30,000.

Based on this, a "simple" $45,000 tiny house on Amazon could easily cost you $200,000 in total fees — and we haven't added the cost of building permits, insurance, and expensive home maintenance. If you do decide on a tiny home, weighing these costs versus another option is best.