Tiny houses in Rochester in big demand. Take a peek inside this one.

Mary Chao | Democrat and Chronicle

A tiny house sits on Frost Avenue on the edge of Rochester's 19th Ward. With just 620 square feet of living space, it's a small bungalow fit for one or two people.

But this one was built long before the more recent Tiny House trend began. It was built in 1905, as housing for the working class of that era. Now, the working-class homes of yesteryear have found a new audience with young people who want to live well for less.

The bungalow attracted the attention of Aaron Rubin, a millennial investor who lives in the 19th Ward. When he purchased the home two years ago, it had been boarded up and uninhabitable. Now, the bungalow has been transformed, with an open-concept living space that makes the most of the small space.

This tiny house had big potential. See inside

For the past five years, Aaron Rubin and his wife, Kate Huggler-Rubin, have been rehabilitating houses in the neighborhood while trying to recruit like-minded people to live in the area. They own most of the homes in the Frost Avenue block near Genesee Street, turning zombie properties into stylish abodes for a new generation.

The couple paid $10,000 for the tiny home on Frost Avenue and spent $27,000 to renovate it. Renovation costs are usually higher than the cost of the home itself, Rubin explained.

Rubin, 32, says there's a niche when it comes to small-space living. Millennials are attracted to less expensive real estate options because many are saddled with student debt and are working at jobs that make it difficult to cover all their living expenses, he said.

The tiny house on Frost Avenue is one of 30 units that the Rubins manage and rent out. A new tenant has already claimed the small house and will be paying $700 a month for the space.

Mariah Nolan, 27, is a tenant in another of Rubin's small homes. She lives in a 520-square-foot home with a loft as a second floor bedroom. Every inch of the home has a purpose — there's no wasted space.

"You become more mindful about having too much," Nolan said.

The demand for living small is getting bigger. There are television shows dedicated to the trend. After the market crash of 2008, more people are conscious about personal finances. According to Realtor.com, 68 percent of tiny house owners don't have any mortgage, and homes smaller than the 500-square-foot range are appreciating twice as fast as the overall market: 19% compared to 9%.

Being fiscally conservative, the Rubins look for bargains when it comes to their home purchases and renovations. The couple buys salvage materials from upscale homes and repurposes them into their homes. Rubin's day job selling refurbished computers helps pay for the renovations.

They rent the homes to friends and sometimes offer free rent while they're remodeling to encourage people to live in the neighborhood. The rent they collect helps pay for taxes and more renovations.

Rubin and Huggler-Rubin purchased almost the entirety of a block of Frost Avenue west of Genesee Street. The block was almost completely vacant, Rubin said. It is now filled with artists, musicians and young professionals.

The couple live in the neighborhood in a renovated home on Wellington Avenue. The 19th Ward is an eclectic neighborhood filled with large stately homes and small homes. The small ones are harder to find to redevelop, but Rubin always has an eye out for them.

Mary Chao is the real estate and retail reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle. Her real estate columns appear Saturdays in Real Estate and Rental and online at Democrat and Chronicle.com.