Olly Smith
Amazon sells pretty much anything these days, and that now apparently includes tiny homes for you to live in.
We all know living can be expensive at the moment. When you're living pay check to pay check, even affording groceries can seem fairly daunting.
An area in particular that people are feeling this is in the housing market. With properties going for much higher compared to the average salary than they did a few decades ago, it's clear that moving out from your parents' house is becoming harder to do.
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Because of this, a recent trend centred around tiny living is becoming more popular nowadays, with people choosing to downsize their living spaces for affordability reasons. With tiny homes becoming more common, people are hoping to jump onto the property ladder sooner than expected.
Amazon is one such vendor jumping onto the tiny home real estate market.
TikTok user Nathan Graham, known as unspeakable_fanytb, bought one of these homes from Amazon, with his video going viral with over 21 million views.
According to Graham, the 19-feet-by-20-feet prefabricated home cost just $20,000, but some prices can go as high as $40,000. For context, the median-priced US home costs around $413,200 in December, according to the US Census Bureau.
Forbes estimates the average annual salary for a US citizen to be around $59,428 (£45,738), so this is also a massive saving for anyone on a low income.
The tiny home comes pre-built with most facilities intact, including plumbing connections and space for furniture and basic living.
It does not, unfortunately, come with prebuilt electrical wiring and requires a bit of unfolding yourself until you can use it as a living space.
Users have responded with their own thoughts on the tiny home life, with one commenter saying 'worth it'.
Another responded: "I actually think this is cool it would be easy to get land somewhere and put this up and live decent".
One user presented a valid question, by asking: "What address do you ship it to if you don’t have a house?"
Whether or not these homes are suitable for living in depends on who you ask. Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather does not see it as the best option for living, despite the opportunities it opens up for housing stock.
Ramsey Solutions also does not recommend tiny homes as a viable investment, at least if you intend to resell at a later date. Tiny homes drop in value over time, and can be expensive to maintain.
It does, however, view it as a decent alternative if you live a minimal lifestyle and can't afford a larger home.
Whatever your choices, it's clear tiny living is a trend that isn't going away any time soon. With the opportunities this opens up for those on lower incomes, it's possible this could be the norm a few years from now!