Lennar Elm Trails tiny homes near San Antonio spark outrage over $136,900

Billy Rojo, known as Billy the Realtor on TikTok, posted a November tour of a tiny home in Elm Trails near San Antonio that carried a $136,900 tag and, in a social caption, promised a “Monthly payment around $1,000” and a contact number, (210) 663-1731. The video, which had over 776,000 views as of Friday, described the unit as “the most affordable home in San Antonio, Texas,” then pivoted, “Change of plans, we actually are going to make fun of people buying these,” a line that helped fuel heated comments including, “This home should never exceed 50k.”

Elm Trails is a 96-home community developed by Lennar, and Rhonda Ober, a Lennar representative, said construction began eight months ago and is expected to be completed within a year. Ober also provided a sales snapshot: around half of the 96 homes have already sold. Lennar has positioned Elm Trails as its first tiny-home community; the project’s pace and the sales rate will determine whether the pricing draws long-term local demand.

Price figures circulating about Elm Trails vary. The TikTok and accompanying social posts show a $136,900 listing promoted with financing claims and VA loan, zero-down, and closing-costs-covered hashtags in the marketing copy. Another account of the development described similar units as roughly 600 square feet and priced between $136,000 and $165,000. Marketing language seized on a sub-$1,000 monthly payment message while leaving unclear which fees or site costs are included in the headline price.

The Elm Trails pricing sits above a broad spread of small-home options already listed around San Antonio. Houzeo listing fragments in the market database include examples as low as $55,000 for a 2-bedroom, 1-bath 480-square-foot sale-pending listing, $89,000 for a 1-bedroom, 1-bath 450-square-foot sale-pending listing, and ranges such as $105,000–$136,000 for other small properties. Rentthebackyard-style model catalogs highlight prefab and tiny models from builders with footprints between 152 and 396 square feet, including the Luna at 396 sq ft from New Frontier Design and the eBoho Go studio at 152 sq ft from Escape Traveler, many marketed in tiers under $200k, under $100k, and under $50k.

Public debate has focused on what “tiny home” means in practice and which costs are covered by headline prices. The social caption for the Elm Trails unit ran verbatim: “🚨Tiny Homes🚨 $136,900 💥Monthly payment around $1,000💥 Call or message me to go check it out today! 📲 (210) 663-1731 … #VALoan #ZeroDownPayment #closingcostscovered.” Key questions remain about whether Elm Trails’ prices include land, utility hookups, HOA or lot fees, and the exact floorplans for the units that sold.

Lennar’s stated timeline — construction underway for eight months with completion expected within a year, and about half of 96 units sold, per Rhonda Ober — sets a near-term test: will buyers accept Elm Trails’ pricing at roughly $136k and up for compact homes, or will cheaper small-footprint alternatives in the San Antonio market undercut demand as the community finishes construction.