Inman

Amazon’s $7K, do-it-yourself tiny home goes viral, sells out instantly

Allwood Solvalla Studio Cabin Kit. Courtesy of Amazon.

If you can’t find the perfect home, have one sent to you. A build-it-yourself tiny home recently posted on Amazon has been going viral and sold out almost instantly.

The Allwood Solvalla Studio Cabin Kit, a DIY backyard guest house that the company claims can be built by two people in just eight hours, is currently available for sale for $7,250. At 172 square feet, the house is made from Norwegian wood and transforms into an indoor bedroom and an outside covered deck when built. It weighs a total of 2,480 pounds and comes with all the pieces necessary to put together the guest house, with the exception of roof shingles and foundation materials.

The house that comes together is definitely small — the indoor room measures approximately nine feet in width and nine feet in height — so the buyer won’t be able to fit much more than a futon and a chair or two into the total structure.

But as it turns out, the state of the housing market might have pushed some toward more unconventional housing ideas. The build-it-yourself home sold out almost instantly after being put up on Amazon earlier this month and has since been restocked. The shipping is free but it takes approximately 3-5 weeks for the crate with the contents of the house to get delivered.

While this particular structure is meant to be a cabin or a guest house, homes that measure less than 250 square feet is a serious trend among some who are struggling to buy a typical house. Amazon acknowledged Inman’s questions but did not comment on how many of the Solvalla studio cabin kit it sold or whether it plans to invest in more DIY homes in the future.

lot of West Coasters are embracing a more minimalist lifestyle, and also grappling with some of the highest home prices in the country,” Redfin Silicon Valley agent Kalena Masching told Inman last year. “Many are willing to give up square footage if it means the opportunity to live in a neighborhood they desire.”

Email Veronika Bondarenko