SAN ANTONIO — With sky-high home prices and interest rates to match, many first-time homebuyers are being priced out of the market. But one subdivision on San Antonio's far east side is bucking the trend to make that American dream come to life.
When you think of tiny homes you might think of a 30-foot tiny downstairs sleeper for $52,900. Or a Canada Goose Tiny House RV for $119,000. Or a cute little thing called Tiny Price, Big Love for $27,000. Wait a minute. It is only 96 square feet? Let's find something bigger.
It's called the Elm Trails subdivision on San Antonio's far east side just off Walzem Road. Just how big are these homes with a one-car driveway, narrow front, and a full backyard? Billy The Realtor from BRTexasRealty Group said, "It is going to be a two story home. It's going to be over 600 square feet. Okay a little larger than the max of 400 square feet that typically classifies a tiny home.
"It's enough room for me and he doesn't complain," said Nafi Johnson who moved into one of these homes a couple of months ago with her son after looking into downsizing. She added, "It's convenient. You know, especially for the times that we are living in, things so skyrocket high in price."
The home includes a full kitchen, fenced in backyard, and a sweet second story loft. But to Johnson the draw is the privacy. She told us, "It's better than an apartment complex to me because it's your own, and you can have your your own space."
Creditnews Research studied purchasing power-adjusted wages and starter home prices, and found in the U.S. it takes close to four years of income to afford a "globally benchmaked" starter home. That's a 636 square-foot, two-bedroom home with a price of $287,000. It would take more than five-and-a-half years of income to afford a median-priced home at $431,000. And out of the 25 countries included in the study, the United States had the third most affordable homes, only behind Turkey and Belgium."
"As soon as you walk upstairs and you're able to see the huge loft area, it completely changes the way that you feel about the entire home," said Dalila Sue who decided to rent one of the homes for herself and her two boys. I spoke with one of them, Jase. He told me, "I like the backyard and everything. I like the front yard, also." Sue added, "I think it's something you would definitely want to buy as a starter home, and then maybe look into flipping it later on."
We peeked into one home still under construction, and the inside is a blank slate. You can make it your own. Just like this owner did with the dark subway tile backsplash and painted accent walls, or this one with this sweet vine covered front porch.
Check out Lennar at Elm Trails yourself to see if the homes are right for you.
You can also find more Tiny House Listings here.