Resale

What a tiny house is worth in five years, and what holds that value.

Compact buildings depreciate very differently depending on three things: the structure, the paperwork and whether the buyer can put it anywhere.

Resale

Compact buildings depreciate very differently depending on three things: the structure, the paperwork and whether the buyer can put it anywhere.

The structure sets the floor

A steel frame with a correctly executed envelope is a fifty-year building and is valued as one. A light timber leisure unit is designed for seasonal use and is valued on a depreciation curve closer to a caravan.

This is the single largest factor and it is decided at purchase. Nothing you do afterwards moves a building from one category to the other.

Paperwork is worth real money

A documented build — frame photographs, insulation build-up, electrical certificate, flue record, maintenance log — lets a buyer verify what they are buying. Without it, they are pricing in a risk, and the discount is larger than the cost of keeping the file.

Start the file at handover. Reconstructing it three years later is impossible for exactly the parts that matter.

Siteability is what the buyer is actually buying

A house that fits standard road transport, needs no exceptional permit to move and has a documented foundation interface can go anywhere. One that is 3.2 metres wide is worth less because moving it is a project.

The 2.55 metre width is not just a delivery convenience. It is what keeps the second buyer's options open.

What ages badly

Highly specific interiors, unusual colours, bespoke fittings that cannot be replaced, and anything that dates hard. In a small house every one of those is a large proportion of what the buyer sees.

Keep the fixed elements neutral and put the personality into the things that move. That is not a compromise; it is what makes the house work for the next occupant too.

The market for used compact houses

It exists, it is thin, and it moves on trust. Photographs from the build phase, a moisture reading and a look at the chassis underside are what an informed buyer checks — which means those are what an informed seller prepares.

Price against comparable new plus the cost of the site work already done. A house already sited, connected and permitted is worth more than the same house on a lorry.

Questions

Resale

Compact buildings depreciate very differently depending on three things: the structure, the paperwork and whether the buyer can put it anywhere.

A steel-framed one with a proper envelope and documentation, largely yes. A light seasonal unit depreciates much faster.

Structure first, then documentation, then whether the house can be moved on standard transport without exceptional permits.

Yes — they are the only evidence of what is inside a closed wall, and a buyer without them prices in a risk larger than the file was worth.

Five destination markets

What has to be settled in each country.

The same question is answered differently in Copenhagen than in Zurich. These five points belong in every project check, whatever detail you are researching right now.

Germany

Responsible: the lower building authority of the district or independent city.

Governing plan: the Bebauungsplan, or an assessment under §34 or §35 BauGB where there is none.

Permanent living is possible where the plot lies within a built-up area or a Bebauungsplan permits residential use and the project is approved. In the outer area under §35 BauGB, living is privileged only in narrowly defined cases — the most common reason German projects fail.

Germany →

Netherlands

Responsible: the municipality, through the Omgevingsloket.

Governing plan: the municipal omgevingsplan under the Environment and Planning Act.

Permanent living requires a residential function in the omgevingsplan. Many attractive sites are designated for recreation, where permanent residence is not allowed — even where it happens in practice.

Netherlands →

Denmark

Responsible: the kommune.

Governing plan: the lokalplan together with the zone status (byzone, sommerhusområde or landzone).

Permanent living requires a site in byzone or an equivalent designation. In sommerhusområder year-round residence is restricted in principle, and exceptions are tied to personal conditions.

Denmark →

Luxembourg

Responsible: the commune.

Governing plan: the plan d'aménagement général (PAG) and the associated plan d'aménagement particulier (PAP).

Permanent living is possible where the PAG zone permits residential use and the autorisation de construire is granted. Because municipalities are small, practice differs noticeably from place to place.

Luxembourg →

Switzerland

Responsible: the municipality together with the canton.

Governing plan: the municipal land-use plan and the zoning ordinance.

Permanent living is possible inside the building zone where the zone permits residential use and the Baubewilligung is granted. Outside the building zone, living is admissible only in narrowly defined exceptions — the most common reason Swiss projects fail.

Switzerland →
All questions and answers per destination →
Models

Which models come into question.

Eight plans on one technical basis, 2.55 metres wide. What differs is length, layout and specification depth.

ModelLayoutLengthEx works
MD 1Panorama and loft8.00 m or 9.70 m44,900 €
MD 2Two lofts for families9.00 m52,900 €
MD 3Loft plus extra room8.00 m or 9.70 m47,900 €
MD 4Loft, room and veranda8.00 m or 9.00 m50,900 €
MD 5Compact with extra room8.00 m or 9.00 m46,900 €
MD 6Chalet with pitched roof8.00 m or 9.00 m54,900 €
MD 7Entry model8.00 m42,900 €
MD 8Compact, upgraded line8.00 m45,900 €
See MD 1 to MD 8
Checklist

Five points before ordering.

  • A written answer from the responsible authority on admissibility at the specific plot — verbal assurances do not carry a project.
  • Access and unloading point, with photographs and dimensions. In practice the last hundred metres cause more trouble than the long haul.
  • Servicing: the distance to power, drinking water and sewer. That distance sets one of the largest secondary items.
  • Type of use and number of people. Permanent living, holidays and letting lead to different specifications of the same model.
  • Budget range including foundation, connections, unloading, planning, fees and insurance — not just the ex-works price.

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