An Aussie couple whose mortgage repayments tripled after buying their dream farm have turned to a backyard flatpack, which is raking in about $200,000 a year.
An Aussie couple whose mortgage repayments tripled after buying their dream farm have turned to a backyard flatpack, which is raking in about $200,000 a year.
Interior designer Sibel Karaman and her husband, Yalcin, were feeling the pinch after buying their Sunshine Coast hinterland property, so they took a punt and invested about $100,000 in a glass pod — a 6m by 2.4m tiny home that they put together in three days.
Since launching in May last year, bookings have doubled, with nightly rates ranging from $220 to $580 and occupancy sitting at six nights out of seven.
The bathroom and kitchen inside the Elsewhere Pod on Sibel and Yalcin Karaman’s property. Image supplied.
Around 60 per cent of guests are Brisbane-based couples seeking a short escape from the city, while roughly 30 per cent are domestic travellers, and up to 30 per cent are international visitors.
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The ‘Elsewhere Pod’ has created a consistent income stream alongside the couple’s larger renovated farmhouse rental, helping to buffer the impact of higher mortgage repayments thankis to rising rates.
The Karamans are part of a broader shift, with homeowners increasingly turning to modular pods and secondary homes to generate extra income amid cost-of-living pressures.
Sibel and Yalcin Karaman in the ‘Elsewhere Pod’ they now generate about $500 a night in income from. Image supplied.
The deck attached to the Elsewhere Pod on Sibel and Yalcin Karaman’s property. Image supplied.
Elsewhere Pods, the company behind the glass retreat, says it is seeing strong demand from property owners looking to establish eco-tourism accommodation or long-term rental options quickly.
Elsewhere Pods founder Matt Decarne said the appeal was largely due to how fast and easy they were to assemble.
Pods arrive as prefabricated flatpack kits and can be assembled in days, offering a dramatic contrast to traditional construction timelines and ongoing labour shortages.
Elsewhere Pods founder Matt Decarne in one of the glass, flatpack pods he sells. Image supplied.
An Elsewhere Pod on a property in Kiama Downs. Image supplied.
“It’s like a high-tech Lego set — or a luxury version of Ikea furniture,” Mr Decarne said.
The business offers everything from backyard studios and granny flats to full three-bedroom homes with wraparound verandahs, targeting downsizers, investors, families locked out of the property market.
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Elsewhere Pods now turns over $9m annually, with sales doubling year-on-year since 2022 as buyers turn to the high-end, tiny home featuring floor-to-ceiling glass and architectural finishes.
“Housing innovation must be part of the answer to Australia’s broader affordability squeeze,” Mr Decarne said.
The bedroom inside the Elsewhere Pod on Sibel and Yalcin Karaman’s property. Image supplied.
“We built Elsewhere Pods to be more than just a house. It’s about security, stability and choice, whether you’re recovering from disaster, downsizing, investing in a rental, or simply want a beautiful place to call home.”
The tiny home sector has exploded, recording a 120 per cent surge in sales over the past five years as Australians rethink what home ownership looks like.
The Australian Tiny House Association estimates more than 10,000 people now live in tiny homes or modular pods nationwide — a number expected to climb sharply.
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