Tiny lots have big demand
WENDY Nutt is about to upsize — into one of the smallest freehold residential lots in Australia.
Ms Nutt, who has been living in a 22sq m converted garage, has bought a 38sq m pad in Southport.
To put it in perspective, the size is the same as a standard residential lap pool; a living room in a Sovereign Islands home; and the master bedroom and ensuite of a Main Beach penthouse.
“I currently rent a single converted garage, so I live in 22sq m,” Ms Nutt said. “You don’t really need that much space, we find that if you have space you fill it.”
The local process engineer said she and her husband, who works away, came across the Envi Urban Microvillage during their house hunt.
“We had been looking at packages, but land on the Gold Coast was out of our price range,” Ms Nutt said.
“We started looking at apartments and townhouses but I’m not keen on body corporate, and some apartments that were 60sq m, we were still looking at half a million dollars to buy.”
At 38sq m in size, the smallest Envi terrace lot has a price tag to match, of just $300,000. The home will have slightly bigger dimensions – the finished residence will be about 67sq m and be one of 10 terrace homes available in the Envi village.
Occupiers of Envi have chosen from the “pico pod” – a one-bedroom, two-bathroom abode, the two-bedroom, onebathroom “micro terrace”, and larger “urban pod” (two-bedroom, two-bathroom) and “village home” (three-bedroom, one study, two-bathroom).
The terrace homes feature a free-flowing design, open timber stairs, higher ceilings and glazing on the front and back to encourage air and light cross-flow.
Already, seven of the micro homes have sold, with the remaining three under contract.
Ms Nutt is preparing for her “urban pod” slab on lot five to be poured early next year. She hopes to be in about August.
“We were able to design the kitchen and tailor the internal storage to suit our needs.”
The micro lot is believed to be the smallest freehold residential lot in Australia, and is comparatively tiny on the Gold Coast, where the average size of new blocks is 462sq m.
“You’ve got your terrace homes in Melbourne that are about four metres wide and have been around for ages, and that’s where the name Envi came from, because the Gold Coast missed out during that period of time,” said Amy Degenhart, director of architect Degenhartshedd.
“We were looking at New York, Sydney and Melbourne, and were envious in terms of their terrace homes.”
The tiny house trend has emerged across the world, as an answer to increasing populations and property prices.