The Home Depot now sells surprisingly stylish build-it-yourself tiny homes – for under $50,000

The Home Depot has released a range of tiny homes marketing for less than $50,000  – but they come with a twist: we have to build them ourselves.

The DIY powerhouse announced a series of pre-fabricated, one-bedroom homes marketing between $4,000 and $40,000. For this, the 'home' can be delivered and assembled as a standalone addition to an existing house (similar to a guesthouse) or as a primary residence.

Complete with a tiny bedroom, living and kitchen space, the homes are compact but accessible – offering a home-ownership or home addition opportunity to a wider range of people. The Home Depot tiny homes are, they say, also 'architecturally designed to provide extra space outside of your home for personal use' – encouraging us to spend time beyond our four walls.

However, while the homes have an initially attractive price point, it is worth noting that you need to invest in additional features to make the space habitable, including separate doors, windows, electrical and plumbing systems, and basic furnishings – though, of course, these are shoppable at the home improvement store.

Designed by tiny home company Plus 1, each one of the structures is made from 'high-quality steel to ensure durable use' while being 'termite and shrink-proof'.

'We find and create solutions for custom-built housing and commercial structures to withstand and be resilient to all environmental challenges,' the manufacturers say. 'Our houses have been engineered for strength to make sure they stand the test of time.'

So, could we really make a tiny structure our full-time residence? There's no denying that small homes have surged in popularity in recent years, not least on platforms like Airbnb, where compact listings (such as this tiny home in the Blue Ridge mountains) are in demand among travelers.

Last year, Elon Musk's unconventional property portfolio also made headlines, as he invested in a Boxabl tiny home in south Texas, where his company SpaceX is based. Despite being the wealthiest man in the world, Elon's home, which he calls his guest house, ranges in price from $54,500 - $99,500.

'My main house – if I have a main house – is the one in South Texas, in Boca Chica village... [the boxable] seems good; I don't actually stay in Boxabl. The house that I bought cost less than a boxable, it was 45K or something, but I've done a lot with the place,' Elon says in an interview. 'If a friend comes and stays, then they can stay in the Boxabl if they want.'

Could this be the future of real estate? You can start shopping – or rather – house hunting – at The Home Depot now.