The tiny house sector is becoming more professional
Peter Lustig and his construction trailer are a thing of the past. Tiny houses are no longer just for dropouts and alternative types. More and more investors are discovering these small houses as a viable business opportunity.
Anyone who visited the first edition of NEW HOUSING in 2018 was able to view four different tiny houses. Back then, the visitors were mainly people who wanted to live a minimalist lifestyle in harmony with nature, and who wished to lead a daily life different from that of the majority of the population. This group of visitors has now been joined by another, for whom tiny houses represent a serious investment opportunity.
New, more prominent exhibitors and the camping trend
The professionalisation of the sector was evident in several areas at NEW HOUSING. On the exhibitor side, major players in the sector, such as the prefabricated house manufacturer SchwörerHaus, are increasingly showcasing their products. SchwörerHaus’s portfolio now includes tiny houses measuring 30 m², mini-houses measuring 50 m², as well as modules that can be combined in various ways.
Another area where the industry’s professionalisation is evident is tourism. The Federal Association of the Camping Industry in Germany was an exhibitor at NEW HOUSING 2026, clearly targeting campsites that offer tiny houses. The camping boom in Germany is also attributable to the fact that more and more campsite operators are including mini-houses in their portfolios.
This is opening up new visitor groups who value greater comfort compared to tents or motorhomes. As a result, campsite operators can achieve higher occupancy rates. Furthermore, the camping season is being extended – to cover the whole year.
Weiro is a manufacturer of leisure construction trailers and tiny houses. Although the term ‘construction trailer’ may bring to mind Peter Lustig, the Lower Saxony-based company’s business model has nothing to do with that. During NEW HOUSING, Weisig’s exhibits were the crowd-pullers – and, on top of that, they were sold.
Business Day at NEW HOUSING
Last but not least, this growing professionalism is evident in the concept behind NEW HOUSING, Europe’s most important event for small-scale housing. For the first time, the organisers offered a Business Day. This was aimed specifically at investors, local authorities and tourism operators.
“The industry is no longer what it was seven or eight years ago. Tiny houses have long since outgrown their status as a niche topic. I am convinced that the proportion of tiny houses in Germany and Europe will rise significantly in the coming years. We see this among our exhibitors; we see it among our increasingly well-informed visitors. But we also see it in the interest shown in our Business Day,” says Florian Klag, project manager at NEW HOUSING.
The Business Day concept was well received. More than 120 visitors from 13 countries attended to find out more and to invest. Many of the projects on offer have been or are set to be realised. Representatives from local authorities also attended the Business Day to find out about opportunities to permit tiny houses on a large scale as a further development option.
Political framework Politicians, too, have recognised the signs of the times and are increasingly engaging with tiny houses. With ‘Building Type E’, mini-houses could find their way into local authorities more quickly in future – thanks to the removal of superfluous standards, freedom of choice regarding materials, and the legal certainty that deviating from the norm does not mean a tiny house will be rejected.
Building Type E was initiated by the Chamber of Architects. Andreas Grube, district chair of the Chamber in Karlsruhe/North Baden, says: “We welcome the new building type because the energy balance can now also be improved through the choice of materials. This helps our profession in sustainable construction.
Ten years ago, tiny houses were still a non-factor – that has changed significantly. People are consciously scaling back and responding to increasingly scarce space: it’s about creating something wonderful in a small space.”
The ‘construction boost’ has created further conditions to facilitate the building of tiny houses. The Tiny House Association even spoke of a possible ‘mini-house boom’.
Whether this will materialise remains to be seen by 2030 – that is how long the ‘construction boost’ will remain in force.
The developments mentioned make it clear: anyone who associates tiny houses with hippies and dropouts has misread the signs of the times. Whether modular homes, micro-homes or other small buildings, anyone looking to make big money should invest in small houses.
This text appeared in the annual magazine “Kleiner Wohnen” by Johannes Laible. The full issue is available HERE.
The article was written by Matthias Jundt. Jundt studied political science and is a newspaper and online editor with many years’ experience in the industry; for the past four years, he has been PR Manager for NEW HOUSING at Messe Karlsruhe. He oversees press relations, manages the organisation’s social media channels, and conceives and hosts the NEW HOUSING podcast.
