One of the co-founders of the Airbnb rental platform, Joe Gebbia, has decided to take on a new challenge by creating a company of tiny houses that can be installed in backyards in California, reported the “Wall Street Log”.
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Known as Samara, his new company sells studio and one-bedroom apartments that are factory-built, providing an answer to the growing demand for affordable housing due to inflation.
First launched in California thanks to a more lax law on secondary suites, these residences can be located on the same land as a single-family home, for example.
The company hopes to expand out of state in the future as the housing shortage worsens and telecommuting becomes increasingly important and may require additional quieter space.
With the ever-increasing costs of buying property, more and more Americans are now living in converted garages or guest houses.
“Working from home at least once a week has fundamentally changed people’s relationship with their home,” Gebbia told the outlet.
Californians who want to put the house on one of these tiny homes will have to shell out from US$299,000 for a 430 square foot studio to US$339,000 for a 550 square foot bedroom in the corner of San Francisco.
Customizable, these houses will also be equipped with solar panels on the roof to meet energy needs.
Nearly 20,000 building permits were issued for this type of residence in 2021 in California, when only 1,160 permits were issued in 2016, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development.