Sunshine Coast tiny home builder in hot demand from housing crisis

Demand for small homes has surged as residents scramble to find a home while vacancy rates fall, making it “practically impossible” to find a rental.

A Sunshine Coast small home builder is being flooded with customers this year, spurred on by an “acute” housing crisis looming over the region.

“My phone hasn't stopped ringing,” Mitch van der Werf said.

Launched in March, 2020, Stay Tiny Co is a family business in Peachester, which designs and builds small, sustainable homes, with turnkey houses costing between $79,200 and $125,400.

Owner and director Mr van der Werf, 26, said sales had doubled in the past six months compared to the same period last year.

He built three homes last year and planned to have five whipped up this year. He’s also booked until mid-next year.

“I have new inquiries daily, lots that get turned away due to our lead time,” he said.

One of Stay Tiny Co’s small homes.

Mr van der Werf said inflation, interest rates and a housing crisis were partly behind the hot demand.

Queensland Council of Social Service chief executive Aimee McVeigh said the state was in a housing crisis, which was “particularly acute” in the Sunshine Coast, with rental vacancy rates at 0.5 per cent.

“It is practically impossible to find an affordable rental,” she said.

Ms McVeigh said the number of residents on the Sunshine Coast waiting for social housing climbed from 1777 in 2017 to 2842 last year.

Mr van der Werf said demand for tiny homes was backed by this rental market on the Coast, but also proposed other reasons.

He also said some homeowners downsized after cashing in on their homes when the housing market boomed during the pandemic, allowing them to be debt free with a “roof over their head and money in the bank”.

The inside of one of Stay Tiny Co’s small homes.

He said others were deterred by the idea of giant mortgages.

While demand shot through the roof, Mr van der Werf said he wasn’t interested in increasing his production.

He said building a handful of homes allowed him to keep them personalised and overheads low.

“My builds could triple, if not quadruple, if I expanded the operation. I've just chosen not to,” he said.