Pau sells these houses for 33,000 euros and Alejandro for 380,000

The price of housing property continues to rise, in full ascension towards his Tourmalet real estate. In September was located in 2,355 euros per square meteraccording to the latest data published by the Fotocasa Price Index, collected by Adevinta. He the average price increased by 9.5% over one year and, as is, a floor of 80 square meters costs now average in Spain 188,400 euros, whereas barely a year ago, it cost 171,600 euros. For its part, the rental market remains tight, particularly in tourist areas.

Faced with this complicated framework, many people are considering other solutions. For several years, calls little house They aroused interest in our country as a possible alternative. But what exactly are they? Where does this term come from? Is it legal to reside there permanently? We will answer all these questions by taking a tour of the current market of manufacturing companies in Spain.

“The notion of little house originating from Japan and what he was initially referring to is a cottage. Now even though there are people calling it little house to everything you have less than 36 square metersthe concept remained one more small house on trailer” explain Paul Lariocommercial director of Small Noma housea company based in Sabadell (Barcelona) who makes these little houses on wheels.

The Catalan firm carries six years and currently they have several standardized models on the market. For example, your Maori Suite the costs of 33,481 euros and has a surface area of 13.5 square meters. Do these houses serve as your primary residence? “According to the Spanish regulations land that you cannot have as your primary residence little house. The market buys them to use rustic land and thus have a second residenceat the individual level,” explains the sales director. “As is the case with a trailer You can park it, as long as it is not repaired, you are cheating the legislation to be able to use it as second residence», he adds.

“Legal gaps” for residing

Although this is the general usage, there are also some “legal gaps» which allows certain customers to have these small houses as a first residence: “Let’s take an example: you buy land with a house that already had certificate of occupancy and all the conditions required to be able to use it as first residencebut the house is destroyed and renovation must be done. What people do is take the permit from this house which is practically in ruins to register there, they put the tiny next door and it’s much cheaper.

Or the case of one of his clients, who raise cattle in the mountains: “He bought a landtook all the livestock there, put a little house and I placed it like tool house and there she can live, because her activity is cattle breeding and it must be in contact with livestock. And the house is out 45,000 euros“, summary Lario. It is certain that a change of legislationwhich made it possible to use the little house as a first residence, it would be a solution to the problem of accommodation: “It’s quite small and there are limitations, but once inside it doesn’t feel like a caravan. Here we use equipment from traditional housethe kitchen is what can be found in any house. In terms of quality and spaces, you can live with complete peace of mind.

In fact, in neighboring countries like France u Holland is now possible: “In France provided that it occupies an area of less than 20 square metersand connect to the municipal network and pay for garbage, water, electricity, hook-up, etc. France is precisely one of its main clients, with Portugal And Spain.

With this situation, in the Catalan company They sell “about 14 or 15 small houses» per year to private clients, while the activity is reoriented towards campsites which, by law, must have a percentage of their built area and the same percentage intended for Caravan and tent pitches: “For this plot they get 30 euros per night. However, if they put a little house They can get much better performance from it. They are making this change and, if you start doing the math, it will pay off, in a year and a half having paid the tiny“.

THE tiny They are completely built in the factory and, once finished, the customer picks them up as if they were a car at a dealership: “When the customer takes it, he plants it on the lot and he has nothing left than connecting the panels. solar panels and water tank. THE billing of the company is growing: “Earlier, it focused only on individuals, and now by bringing a radical change to the company and its approach, it is growing quite aggressively. We are charging around 3 or 4 million per year“.

Prefabricated as a 1st residence

The signature Tini alive He also started selling small housesbut not on wheels. Theirs are prefabricated modular housesand these serve as first residence for all those who wish to undertake a project like those they propose: “Ours concerns construction projects. 100% accommodation. What differentiates it from traditional construction is the construction system, since we we build in factory and from there it is transported, but this also requires an architectural project, that the land is studied so that the foundation is appropriate and obtain the necessary building permits,” explains Cristina Agassidthe sales manager.

They started with smaller projects, cozy houses scattered in naturebut now they concentrate more on large houses: “Due to the facilities offered by the construction system, we mainly manufacture houses of 100 square meters or moreand with a price around 180,000 to 200,000 eurosdepending on the project. The main difference from traditional construction is the deadlines, because in the case of high-rise buildings up to 68 square metersthe company takes 100 days to make them. If it exceeds this surface, 150. They tell us that the ideal is for the buyer to already have land available but, if not, they also offer a search service for that area.

The process they follow is as follows: the client contacts them and designs a project “hand in hand” with the team. He construction method that they use door more than 10 years of developmentand since 2019 They appear as a commercial entity: “We have grown a lot. We have a subsidiary in Francerecently opened, and we are certified by CaliforniaWell, we are also builders in USA. We carry out projects everywhere Europe (Germany,Portugal, Belgium), and the most recent ones took place Italy And Swiss», confirms the sales manager. His clientele, he says, is more luxury-oriented, although he has customers of all types. Its factories are located in Plasencia and in Toledo.

Prefab for millionaires

Alexandre Carrilero is the alma mater of Keu mobile homealso manufacturer of modular houses focused on luxury. Lane keeper it’s a carpenter with a love of architecture who had dreamed of the perfect house for years: “I started in my father’s carpentry workshop with 14 years oldalready the 17 I joined a company that did good carpentry and installed kitchens for famous people. I loved it, but with 19 I already wanted something else. I went to real estate shows and couldn’t stop studying people like Joaquin Torres, Le Corbusier“.

That’s why he started drawing and learning about installations, materials and many other concepts and created Standard Keuthe first house proposed by the Keu Group. Lane keeper he installed it with the architect Vidal Morenofriend since childhood. The company is established in Elchewhere they both came from.

“We have houses of 120,000 euros -those of 24 square meters– until 380,000 euros for a house of 80 square meters“, counts. They make 60 per year, mainly for other countries: they sell at France, Germany, Canada, USA And Caribbeanwith a turnover of approximately 3 million euros annually. They do not intend to be an alternative to the current housing shortage: “We are not making affordable housing that is a solution for average families, it is a solution. Ferrari. A Ferrari You see it, you fall in love and you buy it. Or a Rolexa bag of Hermes either Louis Vuitton. Our homes are that. I can’t lie to you. What is certain is that this house can last much longer than any other. Structurally resists category 5 hurricaneslike the one in Florida. I have houses in Florida and I am calm because nothing will happen to them.

Regarding the competition, Lane keeper says that they stand out for the quality of their materials: “I paid 37,000 euros of certain crystals, while in Spain they are worth 3,000. The moment you want to improve insulation, install a good air conditioning system, install suitable mattresses, appliances, faucets and toilets that are not Chinese but Rocketc., that’s what it costs. And I beat every house 12,000 eurosI have a commercial margin of 10%“.

Are 30 in the companyalthough the subcontracted staff amounts to 50 or 60. Their projects include luxury modular homes that they have completed for the group IFC in Ibizapraised by famous people like Benzema either David Guetta. “The directors of Alpine enginesluxury racing cars, or an important Portuguese model, but in Spain “They come less,” concludes the CEO.