10 Affordable Tiny Homes For Under $50’000

The notion of becoming a homeowner seems so out of reach for many in today’s world, and for many millennials, the dream of being able to afford to buy their own home is as unrealistic as Darth Vader becoming the next President of the United States. But it’s not just graduates straight out of university who are feeling the pressure; people of all ages are either finding themselves without the funds to purchase a house of her own and are sick of forking out all of their hard earned cash on rent every month with nothing to show for it. Perhaps this is why there has been a rise in the number of affordable tiny homes on the market?

The alternative living movement is more significant now than it has ever been before, with vandwellers and tiny house advocates all over social media showing us that you can get on the property ladder without having to rob a bank or work five different jobs. From the tiny eco house to the luxury off grid caravan, there are a whole host of different tiny homes out there to help with your off grid living dreams. If living the van life doesn’t appeal or if trailer life leaves you less then enthused, then perhaps one of these affordable tiny homes might do the trick? We’ve scoured the internet to find the best tiny homes for under $50’000, with a range of different prices to suit everyone.

10 Affordable Tiny Homes For Under $50’000

The Shipping Container House – $19’600

The first entry on our affordable tiny homes list is one of my all time favourites and is at the top of my list of dream houses in the future. The shipping container house is a great idea for anyone who wants to build a home from scratch because it’s so rigid and doesn’t have any niggly corners to contend with. Much like a box van camper conversion, you can put up a frame in no time and be cladding and insulating before you know it. But for those of you that would prefer to buy a ready made shell with all of the rubbings attached, ‘Container Conversion Design & Build’ have the perfect solution. 

Creating unique and individual affordable tiny homes, Container Conversion DB provides the answer for any digital nomad who wants to build his or her own off-grid empire in the wilderness. For under $20K (that’s just under £15K and around €17K) you can get a pre-designed and ready-made shipping container that’s ready for you to move in once it has been installed; that’s a far cry from having to fork our £400’000 on a terrace house, isn’t it!

These shipping container houses come with a full height sliding door with a window to let in external light, two exterior walls with treated cladding in your choice of stain, underfloor heating under the solid oak floor, a partition wall to create two separate rooms, and an LED lighting system. Everything is wired up and ready to roll, and Container Conversion Design & Build include delivery and installation in the price. It’s worth mentioning at this point that you can also buy a cheaper shell without any fixtures and fittings for just under $12K (around £9K or €13K). It comes with all of the electrical gubbins pre-attached, so this could be an excellent option for the minimalist homeowner who wants to save some cash by decorating themselves. 

The Roving House – $49.884

84 Lumber Tiny Living has been on our radar for a while now, and when you look at the affordable tiny homes that you make it’s not hard to see why. While this next addition to our affordable tiny home list, the Roving, comes in at the far end of the $50’000 price mark, it’s still fantastic value for money considering the craftsmanship that goes into each tiny home. Bright, airy, and full of funky-fresh ideas to make tiny space living a breeze, the Roving is perfect for tiny home owners who want everything including the kitchen sink in a house that utilises every inch of space perfectly. 

At 154 square feet, the Roving is practically a mansion for anyone who has spent time living in a van and utilises reclaimed wood and durable natural materials to make it eco-friendly too. Inside you’ll find an upstairs mezzanine level with a full sized bed and large windows to look up at the stars, a kitchen with walnut butcher block tops and all of the top cooking accessories that any off-grid chef could dream for, a composting toilet, energy saving LED’s, and numerous power outlets to charge up either from the grid or using the power of the sun. 

These affordable tiny homes are fully insulated and made to withstand the harshest weather, but if you don’t like where your house is parked then you can always tow it to the back of a truck and move to sunnier climates; now the ‘home is where you park it’ hashtag doesn’t just belong to the van life crowd!

The Tiny Living House – $37’000

Tiny Home Builders make insanely nice affordable tiny homes, and the prices vary depending on the size of your build and whether you purchase a basic or standard shell. You can expect to part anything between $12K for a basic 12’ shell with a trailer, framing and sheathing, Rain & Ice Shield wrap and metal roofing; and $37K for a fully finished 24’ house with doors and windows. We’re going to look at this option today, but be sure to check out the Tiny Home Builders website to discover all of the available options. 

The ‘Tiny Living’ design is one of Tiny Home Builders most popular designs, consisting of a spacious family room with a large vaulted ceiling to give the create the impression of having more available space. At the front of the trailer, you’ll find a comfortable 7-foot sleeping loft with a bathroom and kitchen underneath. Like the Roving house above, these affordable tiny homes can be towed over any terrain thanks to the sturdy trailers that they’re housed on, but if you’re happy staying in one place, then the standard shell also comes with all plumbing and electrical rough in’s pre-attached for ease. In our opinion, this option is great for the off-grid couple who like to travel around and would mould seamlessly into a little patch of forest or a mountain glade. 

The Easy Dome House – $20’000

What happens if you cross a golf ball with a Death-Star escape pod? This must have been the question that the creators of the Easy Dome house asked themselves when they were planning these incredible looking affordable tiny homes. Easy Domes LTD design and deliver flat pack houses that you can put up with ease, and they arrive in containers that you could probably convert into an outdoor shower room!

The price that we’re quoting above is for one small dome, which gives you around 31 square metres of space, one main door, and aluminium fittings. The great thing about these Dome houses, however, is that you can always expand and attach more domes on when you have the money, creating a small escape pod village for you and family to live in and pretend you’re in the deserts of Tatooine. 

The inside of these affordable tiny homes is even more impressive, with bamboo floors and enormous windows that frame the landscape perfectly. It takes around 4-6 weeks for three people to build the small domes, with the larger domes taking 12 weeks to complete. All of the pieces are prefabricated, so it’s just a case of slotting them all together and screwing them down. If you’re good at Tetris, then you might be able to finish one even quicker! Prices vary depending on the size of the dome, so check out Easy Dome LTD for more information. 

The Perfect Tiny Home Starter House – $15’000 – $39’000

Continuing the strong ‘DIY’ theme of the Easy Dome houses, our next entry on our affordable tiny homes list champions those that want to build their houses with their own bare hands. These DIY Tiny Home Shells from Tiny Heirloom are the perfect solution for anyone that wants to get a little bit crafty but doesn’t want the responsibility of making sure the roof truss beams are 100% accurate. 

Tiny Heirloom provides the trailer that the house sits on, as well as the all-important wall & roof framing and sheathing, and the first layer of weatherproofing. After that, you can take over and design your house exactly as you have always wanted it to look, using your inner decorator and crazy ideas to bring your home to life. If, however, you just want to concentrate on the interior and would like a ready-made house to move straight into, then Tiny Heirloom also provides a package that comes with the exterior walls, windows and doors built in.  While it might be cheaper to rummage around scrap yards for your own doors and windows, not everyone wants the hassle. 

The custom built affordable tiny homes that Tiny Heirloom build is out of this world, looking more like a country manor than a rolling home. The mezzanine loft levels add so much more space in the living area below, and each house comes equipped for solar and other off-grid sustainable packages to reduce your carbon footprint and your bills at the same time. 

Keep Scrolling For More Affordable Tiny Homes!

The Backcountry Tiny House – $36’000

From beautiful forest glades to mountain passes, tiny homes know no bounds. This next eco-house on our affordable tiny homes list takes inspiration from the colours of nature and lends itself well to beautiful country scenescapes in the very depths of the wild. The Juniper from Backcountry Tiny Homes utilises a plethora of creative storage solutions to make it one of the handiest affordable tiny homes on the market. They’re completely customisable too, so if you have specific needs or need to make them pet-friendly, then Backcountry will assist wherever possible. 

The juniper that we’re quoting the price of is a standard shell with utilities, so you’ll get a fully framed tiny home on top of a trailer; exterior walls that are all sealed and ready to go; and windows, doors, and roofing to give you a watertight, ready to decorate home. This Juniper shell also comes with all of the electrical pigtails, plumbing runs and electrical box pre-installed, so you don’t have to give yourself a headache working out the science bits. 

We’d recommend taking a closer look at what Backcountry Tiny Homes has to offer, so head on over to their website and take a closer look!

The Ark Shelter House – $50’000

If you’re dying to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and longing for a more peaceful, relaxing, and mindful way of life, then the Ark Shelter house should be at the very top of your affordable tiny homes list. These tiny mobile homes are designed to have the least ecological impact on their surroundings, making them top eco campers for any off-grid aficionados who want to blend in while not disrupting nature. Rather than sticking out like a sore thumb, these houses blend into the wilderness, allowing you to become as one with the environment. Namaste readers. 

These high-quality wooden structures are built to withstand whatever Mother Nature throws at them, and the panoramic windows give you a full view of your surroundings, making for a relaxing holiday retreat or a serene full-time home. They might be one of the more minimalistic affordable tiny homes on our list, but they’re designed in a way that reduces clutter in both your life and your mind; I think that we could do with one of these for the Van Clan team to work in.

At the very top of our budget range, the Ark Shelter house comes in at the full $50K but is still not a great deal to ask for considering the beautiful home that you could create inside. Check out Ark Shelter for more information on these off-grid cabins. 

The Wikkelhouse – $34’000

Eagle-eyed readers may remember that we covered this house in out Top Eco Campers article, but I’m adding it into this list because it’s such an affordable way to own your own home, and it also looks impressive too. Unlike the other affordable tiny homes on our list, the Wikkelhouse is made of cardboard (that’s right!) and is still one of the most durable structures that you’ll find on the market. It’s fully recyclable, has an expected minimum lifespan of 50 years, needs no foundations, and is three-times more eco-friendly than any other tiny house. 

Each segment of the Wikkelhouse is built in Amsterdam and shipped to your desired location. These affordable tiny homes are modular, so you can add extra bits into your floorplan or take them away depending on how much space you need. They only take a day to build once delivered, and because they are so light, they can be moved to a different location with ease. 

I am a huge fan of tiny living, and it’s always been a toss-up between building a shipping container house or buying a Wikkelhouse. They get my seal of approval, but I urge you to check out their website and to learn about the incredible building process in detail (you won’t regret it!).

The Hobbit House – $30’000-48’000

No list would be complete without the obligatory Lord Of The Rings reference, and Number 9 on our list of affordable tiny homes ticks this special box. Say hello the Hobbit House on wheels; if Bilbo Baggins had known about this, then he could have battled Smaug from the comfort of his armchair! 

This is the creation of Incredible Tiny Homes, a tiny house company that more than live up to their name. Their tiny custom homes come in so many shapes and size that we’d be here all day if we listed every single one. From designer kitchens to energy efficient heating solutions, if you want it, then they’ll include it. For a 20 foot long trailer complete with your own tiny home, you’ll be looking at anything between $30-48k, depending on what you would like to add, how much room space you need, and any optional extras that you might want to add. Head over to the Incredible Tiny Homes website to find out more. Be warned though; you might lose a couple of hours scrolling through their site!

The Earth Dome House – $300

Last but not least is a range of affordable tiny homes that you can make by hand for just £300! From a hobbit house on wheels to a real-life Hobbit house, the Earth Dome is a simple way to make an eco-friendly, sustainable house with no prior building knowledge. Using bags, earth, twigs and twine, you can make a small home that would look just as at home in the middle of a forest as it would in the middle of The Shire. While you might need more than one hobbit to help you out with making an Earth Dome house, tall-folk can usually manage to do it on their own without too much effort. 

This is an excellent idea if you really want to blend in with your surroundings, and it’s also an easy way of making a large home for next to no money! It might not be portable or as flash as some of the other affordable tiny homes on our list, but it has certainly won the prize of being the cheapest! 

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