Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate / Opinion

Opinion: Are tiny houses the way of the future?

Amy Wiggins
By Amy Wiggins
Education reporter, NZ Herald.·Bay of Plenty Times·
17 Mar, 2017 06:00 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A tiny house being built in Te Puna. Photo/Supplied

A tiny house being built in Te Puna. Photo/Supplied

Amy Wiggins
Opinion by Amy Wiggins
Amy Wiggins is the New Zealand Herald's education reporter.
Learn more

In this crazy property market tiny houses may be the way to go for many people struggling to buy their first home.

A Tauranga couple have almost finished building their dream home - all for about $40,000.

It's part of the world-wide tiny house movement - and tiny it is.

For $40,000 and the price of some land, it's a realistic goal for young people trying to break into the market.

Or, like Tara and Leo Murray, you can get permission to put it on someone else's land.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It's environmentally friendly, affordable, and would solve the issue of urban sprawl and the lack of available land.

I applaud them for looking outside of the box for a solution to housing issues and for wanting to avoid getting into huge debt by taking out a mortgage on a house worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In saying that, it's not for everyone.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

I couldn't handle living in such a small space. It would send me up the wall.

I like to be able to open our home up to others and entertain a crowd. I also like everything to be in its place and be tidy - I think I'd struggle to keep everything stored away neatly in such a small space.

In saying that, it's a roof over your head and everything you need to live a healthy life.

It's going to take a massive shift in thinking for many people but perhaps it is an answer.

Perhaps it is a good option for a first home - a way to break into the market. Perhaps it's a better way of housing the homeless than putting them up in motels.

For families, it's probably not the most practical place to live for years on end but it will do as a stop gap.

I wouldn't be surprised to see more and more tiny houses popping up.

Perhaps they are the way of the future.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

'He was 20, I was 18': Graduating nurse inspired by lost love

09 May 10:35 PM
Premium
Opinion

Opinion: Observing drama between two girls on the street

09 May 05:00 PM
Northern Advocate

'Doctor-less' hospital: Alarm raised after stroke patient assessed by telehealth

09 May 05:00 PM

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

'He was 20, I was 18': Graduating nurse inspired by lost love

'He was 20, I was 18': Graduating nurse inspired by lost love

09 May 10:35 PM

Caring for her young partner to the end of his life inspired Williams to become a nurse.

Premium
Opinion:  Observing drama between two girls on the street

Opinion: Observing drama between two girls on the street

09 May 05:00 PM
'Doctor-less' hospital: Alarm raised after stroke patient assessed by telehealth

'Doctor-less' hospital: Alarm raised after stroke patient assessed by telehealth

09 May 05:00 PM
'Trying to survive': Woman alleges years of daily sexual violence by 'sadistic' ex

'Trying to survive': Woman alleges years of daily sexual violence by 'sadistic' ex

09 May 07:00 AM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP