IMO, this will keep the American dream from becoming a nightmare. It is way better than getting a house only to have it foreclosed on. It is way better than any mobile home could be. It also seems to be part of the small house trend.

So the assumption here appears to be that they would pay a mortgage on the home and rent a lot, as with a mobile home. This still becomes unaffordable over time, since the lot rent goes up. And the lot rent plus the mortgage would probably be beyond the means of those on social security even to start with unless there were two checks coming in.

It does not look any nicer or roomier than a trailer house without the advantage of being able to move it on little more than a whim.

most of those look pretty.....sparse.
BigWarpGuy - lol, what small house trend? People still want a bigger house then they can afford, there is no trend for the average person to move into a smaller home. Unless your talking about the hippy crowd, but that's a very small minority, hardly a trend.
I'd rather live in a small apartment or crappy trailer then this, so I could save up and buy a real house.

Once out of the metropolitan area and suburbia (look at the pictures), some people own their own land but their homes can be a little worse for wear. These homes have no granite countertops or other signs of conspicuous consumption, but offer decent housing for decent folk. I have swung a hammer on several Habitat houses, so I applaud Rural Studio's efforts and wish them well.

What sad responses!
MB, land is dirt cheap in the south so land to put it on isn't a problem. And likely on donated land.
Derek, what is your problem? This is so much better than a trailer is obvious. If you want to pay high rents forever that is your rather not smart choice.
I paid my place off in 5 yrs at $300/month including 2 lots in town in Fla.
So I've been living for around $200/month since it's been paid off including everything like food, heat, A/C, charging my EV's, my workshops, etc.
So go ahead and work your rear off paying all those bills you have and I'll be on my 34' trimaran sunset sailing with some pretty girls thinking about why people pay so much for near nothing and working your rear off trying to stay ahead.
So who is the not bright one, you or me?

I like the idea as something basic that could be modified and added to over time. But those steps don't need to be twelve feet wide.

I like the concept, but it needs more work. If the house could be constructed mostly of free indigenous structural material, like compressed earth block, and if the land could be doled out in long term leases by the government, this would have a chance. Oh, and get the price down to less than half. It might well become the current day equivalent of the 'poor farm' from days gone by when there were no real safety nets. Meanwhile, they already have this concept in production and distribution today. It's called a trailer park.

These may very well be the houses of the future. When the 1% finally own the 99%,there will be no other options.

What could make homes less expensive is reviving the method of preparing all the materials at a factory then shipping the kit to the build site.
Sears, Montgomery Ward and some other companies did that for a long time. One lasted into the early 1980's.