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From studio apartments to tiny houses, which would you choose?

This is Curbed Comparisons, a regular column exploring what you can rent for a set dollar amount in different neighborhoods. And seeing as how this is Micro Week, today we examine different rentals at a particular, decidedly conservative square footage count. Is one person's studio another person's, well, slightly larger studio? Let's find out. Our dimensions today: 275-550 square feet.

We were a bit surprised to find a fairly ample selection of homes measuring under 500 or so square feet—and especially freestanding, single-family (single-person?) homes. There's a good mix of property types here (condos, apartments, houses, accessory dwelling units), and there are no doubt less expensive options out there, as well.

We start with an updated condo on the south end of Travis Heights that measures 482 square feet, this unit has one bedroom and one bathroom, as well as granite kitchen countertops and hardwood floors.

↑ The vintage-in-a-sweet way apartments also have an all-in-one washer/dryer units and Google Fiber available. Rent: $1,050/month.


↑ The rare fully furnished rental, this eye-poppingly painted house in Central East Austin has one bedroom and one-bathroom. It was recently renovated in eco-friendly fashion and has an adjacent cabin with washer-dryer. There’s also a hot tub somewhere. It measures 575 square feet. Rent: $2,250/month.

↑ Located in a lodge-style luxury complex in Rollingwood just west of MoPac, this one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment measures 423 square feet and has a balcony or patio and washer-dryer hookups, as well as being pet-friendly. Rent: $1,146/month.


↑ This cottage efficiency in the Holly neighborhood appears to be real, so it has that going for it. A freestanding, 250-square-foot efficiency, it’s most definitely a micro house and /or tiny home. It has a full kitchen, what looks like a window unit for air conditioning and heating, and a storage shed (which it is not, just saying) that looks almost as big as the residence for your overflow possessions. Rent: $980/month.

↑ This small, just renovated Apex apartment complex in Windsor Park offers one-bedrooms with Google Fiber access, hardwood floors, and vaulted ceilings. It’s pet-friendly and has a "puppy park" (which might be micro, too). Rent: $1,175/month.