Una Casita Bonita

A tiny abode with a tiny pricetag

While the Tiny House phenomenon has garnered much press coverage in the USA, the reality is very few homebuyers are looking for homes of 500 sf or less, at any price.

According to the Home Improvement Research Institute, only about 10% of buyers bought tiny homes, while the standard, three-bedroom, two-bath homes of around 2,000 sf remain the big sellers.

Bigger homes, or MacMansions, that are well over 3,000 sf, remain the best niche market, at about 13%.

In Ecuador, it’s a whole 'nother story.

Little homes of 400 sf or less, made of bamboo frames and netting, selling for about $500 with a small bath and a kitchen, remain the choice abode of millions.

We plan to build one for us, on the beach, and including a few upgrades – and at significantly higher cost.

In future posts, I’ll keep you updated on our progress on the Work in Progress: Vistas del Pacifico page.

— Fernando Pagés Ruiz is ProTradeCraft's Latin America Editor. He is currently building a business in Ecuador and a house in Mexico. Formerly, he was a builder in the Great Plains and mountain states. He is author of Building an Affordable House and Affordable Remodel (Taunton Press).