..Inside Luxury Tiny Homes: Millennials, Retirees Bucking Mortgages and McMansions

[Spoonman]

a sign of the times



Inside Luxury Tiny Homes: Millennials, Retirees Bucking Mortgages and McMansions | Daily Ticker - Yahoo Finance

..Inside Luxury Tiny Homes: Millennials, Retirees Bucking Mortgages and McMansions

The housing market is 67% back to “normal” according to Trulia’s Housing Barometer and the post-crisis recovery is on-track, according to the latest home price figures from Case-Shiller. But these gauges may be missing a “tiny” but growing slice of today’s housing market.

Related: Housing Future Looks Bright But is Dependent on the Job Market

For example, Ella Jenkins of Frasier Park, California, is a 23-year-old “homeowner.” She built her own house, and it has everything she needs. There’s just one catch: it’s only 130 square feet and it’s built on wheels (i.e. a trailer). The home cost her $16,000 to build, and she constructed it with her father in the driveway of her family’s home. It was a yearlong D-I-Y project, but a tiny home with no mortgage or rent means she has the economic freedom to pursue music and art. She won’t get forced into a career path she doesn’t want. (See the video above for a tour of Jenkins’ house.)

 

[waltky]

Mebbe it's better to rent...

Mortgages Are Too Risky, Consumers Say
June 09, 2014 — Even though mortgage rates remain at historically low levels, some consumers have negative attitudes towards home loans.

A new study from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling said about one in five consumers believe taking on a mortgage isn't worth the risk. "Even if you weren't personally impacted by the housing woes from the 2008 recession, chances are you saw friends, family or coworkers who were hit with foreclosures from not being able to make mortgage payments," says Gail Cunningham, vice president of public relations at the NFCC. "They've decided the risk is too great."

The pressure to own a home helped cause the 2008 mortgage mess, as consumers took out loans they couldn't afford and didn't understand. For consumers, it's important not to jump into any major financial decision, such as buying a home, before you're ready, despite what the people around you are telling you.

You may feel tempted to jumpstart your home search on the heels of low mortgage rates, which won't last for much longer. The Federal Reserve continues to taper its bond stimulus, which has kept interest rates low for years. Upon the end of the bond stimulus, which is expected to come in October, short-term interest rates, known as the Fed funds rate, will only remain near zero until mid-2015, many analysts predict.

Still, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is 4.14%, compared to 3.91% at the same time last year, according to Freddie Mac. Regardless of what mortgage rates are, your personal financial situation is the only factor that dictates when you should proceed with a mortgage.

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[ABikerSailor]

These tiny houses have been around ever since the financial crisis started. Matter of fact, I first heard of these back in 2008.

 

[Politico]

Longer than that. They will always remain a 'tiny' segment of the market.

 

[Mr. H.]

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company - Welcome to our website !