February 2, 2026 | Mark Luis Foster

REPUBLISHED DUE TO TECH ERROR

Well it’s Groundhog Day. But I must admit this not a day that I get up and worry about some animal on the east coast named Phil and whether or not he’ll scare from his shadow. I’m more apt to think about Bill Murray and the movie of the same name, in which his central character wakes up each morning only to relive that day over and over. God forbid that given the state of the state in Minnesota that we would have to endure such a thing.

So we turn our attention to Texas where a new trend is emerging: Tiny Homes.

No doubt you’ve heard all about it.  Small footprint houses that are about the size of some walk in closets these days. Could this be an HOA wave of the future?

From Realtor.com

In San Antonio, builder Lennar is a leader in the tiny house movement, having constructed masterplanned tiny home communities with Elm Trails, Flora Meadows, and Paloma. The homes run as small as 350 square feet.

That’s a mighty small footprint indeed. Image the actual bathroom inside of a tiny home…

Drawing further ire was the tiny home’s unusual layout, with no door to the backyard, a ladder needed to access a loft area with water heater, and two small open closets that Mata (builder rep) generously describes as “walk-in.”

Well, there ya go.

Turns out that they aren’t so affordable after all, given the influx of Californias into Texas seeking “more affordable” housing.

Mata acknowledges that tiny house prices may not be as low as people would like, but they are a lot lower than the typical standard-sized house. The median home price tag in San Antonio-New Braunfels is $320,245.

You can read the story here.