A luxury tiny home company's CEO says demand 'exploded' during COVID-19 — see inside its most popular $95,000 unit

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Tiny houses have been all the rage throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, from a $100,000 smart home that was so popular, it crashed its maker's website …

… to the opening of six multimillion-dollar colorful tiny home villages in Los Angeles designed to shelter the city's unhoused population.

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One segment of little living units, in particular, has received plenty of attention throughout COVID-19 and the consequential real estate boom: luxury tiny homes.

This may seem paradoxical to a typical homeowner, but David Latimer — founder and CEO of tiny home company New Frontier Design — says interest in his tiny homes has been "amazing" since the start of COVID-19.

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According to Latimer, demand for his tiny homes had already been growing steadily since before COVID-19 …

... but the onset of the pandemic caused demand to "explode" by five times, especially from customers with less constrained budgets.

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"Tiny homes initially had viral popularity," Latimer told Insider. "We get hundreds of inquiries every month and people are still really excited about them across demographics."

But Latimer doesn't peg this skyrocketing interest in tiny homes to some viral internet trend.

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Instead, he believes current real estate trends like the hot housing market and rise in remote living and work have helped boost public interest in downsized living.

His company's lineup of luxury tiny homes currently ranges from a $95,000 unit that can sleep two people, to a $209,000 home that can sleep up to six. Both are less than 400 square feet.

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The least expensive unit, the Luna, was first unveiled in early 2021 as one of the company's more "economical" tiny homes that can sleep two people, Latimer said.

This "more attainable price point" with Latimer's self-proclaimed "unique design" quickly made Luna one of New Frontier Design's most popular products.

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If you have a difficult time seeing how a $95,000 256-square-foot trailer could be considered economical, just compare the Luna to New Frontier Design's other tiny homes.

The company's six-person Escher and four-person Orchid builds are also popular among its customers.

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And both start at $209,000 and $195,000, respectively.

New Frontier Design also has another model that can accommodate up to two people …

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... but that build, the Alpha, is about double the price of the Luna at $189,000.

Given the price tag of his tiny homes, Latimer says his clients are typically "higher net worth individuals [like] celebrities who have a remote piece of property."

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"Tiny homes continue to have a stigma of having a DIY, crafty, crappy quality, but actually no, this product is 10 times better quality than your house," he said.

Let's take a look inside the most popular build, the "economical" asymmetrical Luna.

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Luna stands at 25 feet long, 8.5 feet wide, and 13.5 feet tall.

It's mounted on a 25-foot double axle trailer and weighs 13,000 pounds.

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The inside of the 256-square-foot Luna includes a living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom …

… and a full wall of windows.

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The interior is almost completely white, creating a brighter space to compliment the LED lights speckled throughout the home and the large windows that bring in plenty of natural light.

The glass entry door leads right into the living room ...

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… which has enough space for a sofa, coffee table, and dining table.

The kitchen is right across from the living room.

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The home may be small, but the kitchen includes more than the bare necessities.

It has a full sink, refrigerator …

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… dual burner electric cooktop, and a convection oven that doubles as a microwave.

This cooking space also has ample shelves and cabinets ...

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… and enough room to fit a washing machine, according to pictures of the interior.

Moving along. The bathroom is just beyond the kitchen past a barn door.

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Similar to a typical bathroom in a full-sized home, Luna's bathroom has a vanity, shower, sink, toilet, and additional shelves.

Like many tiny home models, the Luna has storage units hidden in unique spaces.

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Just take a closer look at Luna's staircase, which doubles as a series of cabinets.

This staircase leads right up to the loft.

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The tiny home can sleep up to two people on a king bed in this little lofted area.

"[Luna] is really simple, functional, and open," Latimer said. "And I think people were definitely drawn to the price point. So people who have been wanting to buy one of my tiny homes for years now are like, 'oh, I can afford that.'"

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