Tiny homes growing in popularity amid affordable housing crisis

Here's an option for single folks who don't want a large home, but want a home. We've explored Tiny Homes before at a local home show and they're pretty amazing. Here's a story from WGME-TV, Portland.

Tiny homes growing in popularity in Maine amid affordable housing crisis 

by Jeff Peterson, WGME Wed, May 10th 2023, 6:19 AM EDT

To say there's a lack of affordable housing in Maine would be an understatement. The latest numbers from the Maine Association of Realtors are glaring.

The median sale price for a home in the state is $337,500. That's up nearly four percent from March of 2022. To top it off, the state continues to see lower than normal inventory.

Meanwhile, according to MaineHousing, based on a report from HUD in September 2022, fair market for a two-bedroom apartment in Maine ranges from $767 a month to $1,637 a month. 

The alarming stat is the vacancy rate in Maine. It's at 2.9% percent. That's the second lowest in the country.

The housing crisis has the state, residents, and builders thinking outside the box when it comes to alternatives that includes the emergence of more tiny homes.

Down a dirt road in Denmark, Armella Brown, her dog and two cats are living the American dream. With dimensions of 8 X 30 and just 250 square feet on the main level, she is the proud owner of a tiny home. "It's pretty small but it has everything you need in there. It does offer a much more affordable and achievable solution when it comes to having what we're seeing with normal size houses right now,” Armella said.

Armella's mortgage and land costs $1,000 a month. Her electric bill, that includes a heat pump, averages about $125. Armella said it wasn't just the money that had her thinking small. "It's fun because you get to be creative with your space and have to be a little more thoughtful with the things you buy or hang up or where you’re storing things,” Armella said.

As for the drawbacks? It took a while to find the land to put her tiny home on and the inside of the home gets messy quickly.

Armella predicted the popularity of tiny homes years ago. She started an Instagram page called MyTinyLittleHouse. It currently has around 1,800 followers, but Armella doesn't need likes or comments to know she made the right decision on buying a tiny house. "It feels like home and feels like me," Armella said.

Armella bought the home four years ago for $76,000 from a company in Houlton called Tiny Homes of Maine. "It's not a mobile home, it's not a camper. It's a high end, stick built home that will last forever that happens to be built on a chassis, that you know is mobile and you can move it without much effort,” said Corinne Watson, the founder and owner of Tiny Homes of Maine. 

As far as Maine state law goes, the definition of a tiny home is a living space permanently constructed on a frame or chassis, 400 square feet or less that includes a kitchen, bathroom and living area, but whether you live in Westbrook, Falmouth, or Lewiston, you have to meet all the local codes, zoning regulations and energy efficiency requirements.

According to Lewiston City Planner Shelly Norton, they currently allow ADU'S or accessory dwelling units, which can be up to 900 square feet and built on your property to rent short or long term. She knows this is only the beginning though.

Meanwhile, in what could be the wave of the future, plans are underway to replace The Martel Mobile Home Park on Hammond Street in Bangor with a 34-unit tiny home village. Construction is expected to start by the summer.