Let’s be honest, how many of us think we’re going to own our own home before we’re 50?

The idea of saving for years and years just to come up with a deposit seems unfair.

So what if you could own your own home for as little as $50,000?

It probably won’t be larger than your childhood home, and will likely be built on a trailer, but it would be yours.

The tiny home movement is growing in Australia and with housing affordability pushing people further away from the cities, buying a home just bigger than two shipping containers might be a good way for young people to get into the property market.

Why switch to tiny living?

Given young people are being priced out of the housing market in most major cities, the idea of owning your own property for less than $120,000, in some cases, is quite attractive.

Darren Hughes, founder of the Tiny Houses Australia group, has been a part of the movement since 2012 and says people don’t always switch because they want to downsize.

“Tiny houses have captured the attention of younger people - those who are working on their career or who might want to put their career off to travel and save some money at the same time,” Darren told Hack.

Tiny homes can be anything from a specially built house on wheels, to a caravan, to a small house built on land.

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“Tiny houses will do for us what laptops and mobile phones have - make it easier to live a more flexible lifestyle,” Darren said.

“More and more people are starting to realise the benefits of having a flexible, mobile home.”

Heather Shearer, a Research Fellow at the Cities Research Institute at Griffith University, agrees.

“My interviews with people actually living in tiny houses showed that everyone loved it,” she told Hack.

“They allow people to live closer to employment, as cities keep growing with not enough housing.”

From little things, big things grow

Obviously, with a home that costs far less than the average Sydney house, there are significantly less debts that go with it.

Chances are, you’re not looking to own a sprawling mansion complete with a garden and a pool any time soon (we can dream though).

But for those of us wanting to get on the property market before we’re 60, owning a tiny home could prove to be a viable option.

“There are a lot of people in this country who love the idea of a tiny house and who want to build one or buy one, but they’re stuck in the rent trap,” Darren said.

“Here in Australia people are either desperately trying to manage mortgage payments, or trying to pay the rent each month.”

If owning a big traditional house is something you want in the future, investing in a tiny house might mean you spend a lump sum initially, but you can save for your dream house faster.

It’s that old “spend money to make money” thing.

“While they’re young, before they start thinking of maybe starting a family, they seriously consider living in a tiny house because that could fast track saving a deposit for a regular house.

“The fact remains that young people will have to get a deposit from somewhere, and if they’re paying huge rents, it’ll be a long time before they can scrounge together a deposit.”

Tiny homes could also help get youth off the streets

RMIT University Professor of Housing and Homelessness Guy Johnson said rising housing costs are leaving many Australians at risk of becoming lifelong renters.

"This places a large proportion of the population in unstable housing, leaving them vulnerable to health and financial shocks," he said.

The latest homelessness statistics show that two-in-five of those who are homeless are under 25.

Homelessness among 19-24 year olds in New South Wales has more than doubled in 10 years, while in Victoria it's gone up 66 per cent and in Tasmania 71 per cent.

To combat this, a tiny home project which aims to help tackle youth homelessness was launched on the NSW Central Coast earlier this year.

A pilot program of four to six tiny houses will hope to get young people off the streets and into permanent housing solutions.

“A community of tiny houses, for homeless people and for young people getting into the property market - it’s a great idea,” Heather said.

“If you can diversify it and get a mix of people in there, then I think most people would be open to it.”

Be sure to test tiny living first

Instead of forking out half your pay on rent while you toss up between buying or building one, Darren suggested trialing tiny living beforehand.

“It is a bit of a dramatic lifestyle change, so before you go and invest 30, 40, 50 thousand dollars, I’d suggest getting a van or caravan and try living in that for six months.

“That will enable you to test if you can live in a tiny space, either with yourself or a partner without wanting to kill each other, and figure out if tiny living is for you.

You’d rather find out whether living small is for you by spending a few thousand on a caravan, Darren says, before you go and spend 60 grand and a year of your life building it, “only to find out you hate it”.

So it pays to research all aspects of your tiny home plan before investing any money in it.