Walmart is selling a tiny house for less than $16,000 - CBS News

By Megan Cerullo

Edited By Aimee Picchi

October 18, 2024 / 1:27 PM EDT / CBS News

These days you can have almost anything shipped to your door from websites like Amazon and Walmart — including a house.

Walmart is now selling a tiny house online for $15,900. The 19-by-20 feet "expandable prefab house" is delivered by flatbed truck and requires a forklift for unloading, according to the online listing.

Made by Chery Industrial, a New York-based storage solutions company, the tiny home has space for a bedroom, living room, bathroom, dining room and kitchen. It comes unfurnished and without appliances.

Some Americans are turning to tiny homes amid high housing costs across the country, driven largely by a housing shortage stemming from a construction downturn following the 2007-09 Great Recession. Still, the sticker price could be deceiving, given the additional costs associated with owning such a home.

For starters, one would require land on which to install it, as well as building a foundation. The item's description also recommends pouring concrete on its legs to increase its stability. Then there are also costs for everything from hiring a forklift for unloading the home to installing appliances.

In April, Amazon started listing the same tiny home, which is currently unavailable on its site. Chery Industrial also makes what it calls an "Apple Cabin," which is currently available for sale on ebay, for $20,000, and whose exterior resembles an Apple electronic device, like an iPhone.

Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.