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Tiny Houses Attract Massive Attention This Weekend

Published: Sun 15 Oct 2017 08:34 PM
Tiny Houses Attract Massive Attention This Weekend in Christchurch
High quality ‘tiny houses’ seem to be piquing the interest of more Cantabrians as evidenced by hundreds of people looking through two Christchurch built examples this weekend at the Christchurch Home Show.
Ken Warner from MiHAUS says the interest has seen hundreds come through the two houses on display, and since MiHAUS entered the tiny house market in May this year, inquiries have increased from 1-2 a fortnight to 8-10 a week.
“People, especially in the Canterbury area after the earthquakes, have started thinking of different ways of living,” he says. “So many people had houses demolished or they had to move, and if you combine that with a sense of “anything is possible” as well as starting afresh, I think people are looking at Tiny Houses when they may not have otherwise.”
Ken says with growing calls to get residents into the inner city in Christchurch, living in Tiny Houses, surrounded by green space and other amenities, is a great idea.
“We are hearing from young couples, empty nesters wanting something different as they start to downsize; there’s no “one type” of person we are getting inquiries from.”
MiHAUS believes that with the cost of land, especially in the CBD, Tiny Houses are an ideal answer to having a home of your own for far less money.
“Our clients can be in a home for a fraction of the cost of a unit or townhouse in the city,” he says. “They are double glazed, warm, modern and are very spacious. This is what young professionals are especially keen on,” he says. “With the empty nesters who are downsizing, it can leave them a lot of money which they can use in their retirement. One client we have travels a lot and that’s how he does it.”
Some of the questions people ask MIHAUS include, “where can I put it?”, “can we move it at any time?” and “what consents do I need?”.
“We want to work closely with the city council and other local authorities, as well as the strong and vibrant local Tiny House community, to make it as easy as possible for people to get into their own home, for far less and with less “stuff”,” says Ken.
The issue of “stuff” is a very relevant one for the people making inquiries because Ken says, they are tired of accumulating things they never use.
“We had someone in last week who recently had to clear out her mother’s house and decided she did not want to have piles of things left when she goes. There is still plenty of storage space for essentials and some even buy a small storage shed for things like the lawnmower and bikes but there will never be rooms or an attic full of boxes that haven’t been opened for years.”
Self-sufficiency is also more attractive to a growing number of people so things like composting toilets, solar and water harvesting can be included in a tiny house design.
MiHAUS has been a part of the Home Show in Christchurch this weekend for the first time.

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