Finding a place for tiny homes

Nestled in a wooded RV park south of Atlanta, Larry Singleton’s home stands out. With its beige wooden siding, exterior shutters and a metal roof, it’s technically not an RV. This is a tiny home.

Singleton lives his life in just 230 square feet, and at the forefront of what he sees as a growing real estate trend.

“I absolutely love it,” said Singleton, 67. “I have everything I need here.”

Construction is starting this month in Clarkston, Ga., on what developers said is the first “tiny home neighborhood” in the state: eight smaller-than-normal houses sharing a half-acre lot and surrounding a common yard area. The “tiny home movement” has not become widespread since it began more than 10 years ago, but proponents are hoping the time is coming for the industry.

“Everybody ran into the problem that I had, with finding a place to park it,” Singleton said, explaining why he ended up surrounded by campers.

As home prices rise in metros across the country, some see downsizing as the answer. But analysts said developers will continue to face challenges as they navigate decades-old zoning laws written for large, singlefamily homes. Tiny homes also tend to be more expensive per square foot than bigger ones. But even with all that, little home neighborhoods present a possible avenue for addressing soaring home prices that leave some out of ownership.

“It’s going to become more popular. It’s going to be driving a lot,” said Will Johnston, the founder and executive director of the MicroLife Institute, an Atlanta-based nonprofit that promotes minimalism and tiny houses. “We can make new rules.”

Johnston’s organization is behind The Cottages on Vaughan tiny home project in Clarkston, which city officials approved last May. The homes range in size from 250 to 500 square feet, and could cost between $130,000 and $140,000, Johnston said. When it was given the green light, the MicroLife Institute said the development would be the first neighborhood of homes under 500 square feet to be sold in Georgia.

The houses will have covered porches and a studiolike feel inside — one bedroom, one bathroom and an open space that includes a kitchen, dining area and living space. They also have storage space in a loft. Outside, the homes have lawns and a shared green space and fire pit.

And they’re in very high demand. Johnston said they have 800 people on a list of those interested in the homes, and some have already been preapproved for the eight under construction. Weather permitting, developers hope to have the neighborhood open in the next six months.

But some tiny home fans, like Singleton, choose to take matters into their own hands — literally. Over the course of two summers he built his home, which is on wheels but can be put on a foundation, designing it down to the half-inch. He had built and designed custom homes for 20 years, but his business failed during the 2008 recession so he began teaching construction at a high school.

Since moving into his tiny home in 2018, he now enjoys a fairly normal retirement, if on a smaller scale. The interior amenities include a washer and dryer, full-size refrigerator, television and pullout couch. He’s gotten so passionate about the shift toward downsizing that he now serves on the board of the MicroLife Institute.

The “tiny house movement” began to gain mainstream momentum about 10 years ago.