The tiny homes in North Conway appeal seems to be sweeping across rural and resort areas around the globe. Apparently, once HGTV makes a show about something it tends to become a real thing. I can see why it really IS attractive, at least in a romanticized way. Camping has always been a favorite family activity. It really does get us closer to nature and slows down our internal clocks to help us recharge for our forays into the hyper-communicative, hyper-aware urban-suburban existence.
Why Tiny Homes in North Conway NH or Maine?
Camping always made me yearn for my own piece of the woods… However, camping in tents often includes a little more ground and rain than most of us really enjoy. A wood stove and a solid roof over a solid floor sound a lot more appealing if I can still get in the woodland setting. Building a tiny house on a lot of lands, tucked up against the White Mountain National Forest sure sounds like the perfect solution. It used to be called a “camp”.
So where are the tiny homes in North Conway or even NH or Maine?? In almost 20 years as a real estate agent in The Mt Washington Valley and surrounding areas of NH and Maine I have seen a few “sustainable living” scenarios, and maybe even something some people would call a bunker and maybe even a safe room or twenty, but I have yet to see a true container house or a true (new) tiny house built as it’s own residential structure (without wheels).
Outbuildings that have been converted to sleeping quarters and old cabins and roadside “efficiency cabins” really don’t count. The old motel style “efficiency cabin” IS very often used now as a tiny home, and many were sold and moved to new locations. Repurposing of structures is valid. However, for the sake of my discussion, I am reporting that I have seen no activity in new construction of tiny homes in this area.
The 1 development of tiny homes, I know of locally, was built in Bridgton Maine in the past 5-10 years. These are modern and modest homes built in a cluster housing layout, at the edge of the village district, and I believe they are a 55+ community. I applaud the design and spirit of developing affordable housing options on a minimalist approach. This has not been replicated anywhere else in the Mount Washington Valley and many would argue that Bridgton Maine is not quite in “The Valley”.
Tiny homes in North Conway seem like a good trend. I hope it works it’s way into the Conway NH area. Town building restrictions (separate from safety codes) make small footprints less cost effective, in many cases and the market for larger homes keeps the builder/developer population satisfied. It makes sense, why make a bunch of small profits when 1 large job can pay more? The market for affordable housing in the valley could use some fresh solutions.
The conundrum is always that an affordable home for a local family is an affordable vacation home for an “outside” buyer and there are no legal ways to restrict the buyer markets. Tiny homes are probably not the solution to that problem here.
It is often mind-blowing to see how many square feet of living area sit unoccupied for months at a time, heated and lit, and even security monitored, while the area has one of the direst affordable housing struggles in New England. At least a tiny house represents efficiency and minimalist appreciation for ones’ needs and perhaps brings the recreation use into better balance with the environment around which it is based.
After talking to a few builders about this article I can tell you that they put the average cost of construction, for a typical home, at approximately $200/sf from foundation to keys. Tiny sounds better all the time!
Written by Bill Barbin, Real Estate Broker with Keller Williams Lakes and Mountains North Conway NH
Call or text Bill Barbin at 603-986-0385 or email me at bill@ilovenorthconway.com
