From a young age, many of us dream of the houses we’ll own. But those dreams don’t get into the reality of how much houses cost. These days, buying a house means getting a mortgage – which can wind up taking decades to pay off. And that’s if you keep from defaulting – defaults in the Golden State are more than double the national average. JAY SHAFER: When you look at events like the housing bust – which eventually caused a worldwide economic downturn – you know, people were being forced into more house than they could afford. When Jay Shafer says “more house,” he means it literally – as in, they were just too big. Shafer owns the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, based in Graton, California. SHAFER: The banks wouldn’t give loans for houses that were small ... These things are really very much a part of what caused this economic downturn, and yet nobody talks about it. In recent years, Shafer’s become the face of the “tiny-house movement.” It’s a diverse spectrum of people who live in houses that are so small, they’re often illegal. Yes, there’s such a thing as a house that’s legally too small. So what has driven some Bay Area residents into such tiny quarters? KALW’s Jon Atkinson reports.

From a young age, many of us dream of the houses we’ll own. But those dreams don’t get into the reality of how much houses cost. These days, buying a house means getting a mortgage – which can wind up taking decades to pay off. And that’s if you keep from defaulting – defaults in the Golden State are more than double the national average. JAY SHAFER: When you look at events like the housing bust – which eventually caused a worldwide economic downturn – you know, people were being forced into more house than they could afford. When Jay Shafer says “more house,” he means it literally – as in, they were just too big. Shafer owns the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, based in Graton, California. SHAFER: The banks wouldn’t give loans for houses that were small ... These things are really very much a part of what caused this economic downturn, and yet nobody talks about it. In recent years, Shafer’s become the face of the “tiny-house movement.” It’s a diverse spectrum of people who live in houses that are so small, they’re often illegal. Yes, there’s such a thing as a house that’s legally too small. So what has driven some Bay Area residents into such tiny quarters? KALW’s Jon Atkinson reports.