Escape Homes popular tiny home community near Tampa Bay, Florida has been a hit. Four of its six new rental shave already been claimed.
Escape Tampa Bay
If you can't imagine living in a tiny home, Escape Homes could point you to about two dozen other people who would disagree.
Along with manufacturing tiny houses, Escape operates a community of its own teeny dwellings near Tampa Bay, Florida. Almost all of the units are cozily under 400 square feet — and they've been a hit, with most being spoken for in less than two months, if not immediately, upon release.
Escape Homes' Escape Tampa Bay
Escape is adding six rentals to the neighborhood as party of a gradual expansion plan of its now more than 30-unit community.
Escape Tampa Bay
All are based on Escape's eBoho model, a 16-foot-long, 152-square-foot studio that can otherwise be purchased for $37,556.
The ones in its Florida community will be almost twice as large at 320 square feet. But there's a catch: The porch accounts for about half of the square footage.
Hey, at least it's covered by a screen.
Escape Tampa Bay
The rentals, including utilities, are priced at $1,350 a month — much cheaper than buying an almost $37,600 unit. And they're furnished, a first for Escape Tampa Bay.
The tiny homes are also incrementally cheaper than the average rent for a studio apartment in Tampa, which falls at $1,485 a month for an average 507-square-foot unit, according to Apartments.com.
However, when broken down, the new Escape apartments are about $ 1.30-per-square-foot more expensive than Tampa's average.
Escape Tampa Bay
Dan Dobrowolski, the founder and CEO of Escape Homes, told Business Insider in late 2023 that the last time the company launched a new batch of tiny home rentals, all were claimed within 36 hours, some before they were listed.
Similarly, four of the six new apartments have already been called for "weeks to months before completion," a spokesperson for Escape Tampa Bay told Business Insider in late May.
The final two units, set to be completed in about two weeks, have yet to be claimed. Besides that, every home in the neighborhood is now off the market.
Escape Tampa Bay
Renters get a kitchen, queen bed, and living room with a couch and table — all in one room.
Thankfully, the bathroom is located behind closed doors.
Escape Tampa Bay
The unit also includes a separate three-foot by five-foot storage unit and access to the community pool and workspaces.
Escape Tampa Bay
Last year, the community's first batch of about two dozen tiny homes, starting at $95,000, were all sold within two months.
Outside Florida and across the US, legislation in states like California has recently shifted in favor of using backyard tiny homes, also known as accessory dwelling units, to alleviate the ongoing housing crisis.
Several startups have since popped up in hopes of cashing in on the little living boom, from California-based Samara, founded by Airbnb's cofounder Joe Gebbia, to Singapore-based Nestron, which is looking to expand its North American dealership network amid demand from buyers in the US.
