From Tiny Homes to Shipping Containers - Is Flex Architecture the New Norm?

photo courtesy of Baran Studio

As home prices climb throughout the country and especially in the Bay Area, more and more attention is turning to what I like to call flex-architecture. Popularized by television shows such as HGTV's Tiny House Hunters, many buyers who are feeling priced out of our real estate market in the East Bay have been reaching out to myself and East Bay Modern Real Estate looking for alternative residential options. While building can be prohibitively expensive and is not for the faint of heart, many younger buyers (who often don't yet have children) are increasingly exploring the idea of pre-fab, container or even tiny homes.

The most notable companies dealing in the pre-fab construction market are Blu Homes and Connect Homes. But as I often explain to my clients who are considering pre-fab as a cost saving alternative, going pre-fab is a luxury item often costing upwards of a million dollars when all is said and done. This is the main reason that to date we still relatively few of these types of homes being built in the immediate Bay Area. One such exception is the recent completion MacArthur Annex. Although not built for residential use, the MacArthur Annex project is a unique mixed use project combining retail and work studios, including a much welcome outdoor beer garden. Designed by the East Bay's Baran Studio Architecture, MacArthur Annex is constructed of 30 shipping containers stacked three stories high and located at the corner of 40th and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and just blocks from MacArthur BART station. Both the proximity to public transportation and the relative affordability of this commercial "micro-option" has been welcome opportunity for local business owners and entrepreneurs alike as evidenced by a multitude of tenants ranging from a coffee shop and record store to an apothecary.

For more information about MAcArthur Annex see the recent 7x7 Article. If you are considering a pre-fab home then you may want to start by attending one of East Bay Modern's pre-fab events or reach out to me directly.

Ary Assadi East Bay Modern Real Estate

510-833-9691

Ary@EastBayModern.com