Microhousing affordable to buyers, profitable to developers

There is not a desirable city that exists that doesn’t have a lack of attainably-priced housing, and it’s been covered pretty extensively. Smaller homes have been one of the most logical answers, and developers are starting to agree to the point investors have termed the smallest end of these offerings…

Microhousing is defined as very small one-two bedroom units, 300 to 500 square feet, with an emphasis on shared amenities like fitness facilities, party rooms with kitchens, libraries, laundry rooms, and car-sharing. While they are more expensive to build per square foot, they also sell at a higher dollar value per square foot, with the key benefit to first-time home buyers being a much lower price point to own rather than rent.

Pictured is downtown San Francisco’s Book Concern Building, a five-story microhousing redevelopment of a 1906 historic landmark, with its 60 units starting at 275 square feet. When dealing with building codes that limit numbers of stories and not height, mezzanines often do not count as a story.

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