Prefabricated mansions are creating a small but growing new market—saving both time and money.
Key Details
- Prefab or modular luxury homes are becoming more popular and several firms are popping up to fulfill the demand.
- There has been a growth in orders for these homes in the last few years, Mansion Global reports.
- These modular homes can be completed in as little as one-third of the time of a normal home, require less labor, and are assembled onsite within one to two days, but often don’t include full interior furnishings, which significantly increases the prices.
- “Ultra-high-net-worth individuals, some driven by the need to sequester safely during the pandemic era, have chosen to erect these houses, which can cost millions and even tens of millions of dollars because they are more efficient to build, are of superior quality, and most significantly, they can be completed far more quickly than those built via traditional on-site construction methods,” says Mansion Global.
Why it’s important
Hundreds of these homes have already been commissioned in the past few years and construction companies are ramping up capacity to start delivering components by the thousands. Many businesses have emerged to start fulfilling the demand for prefab mansions including Clever Homes, Plant Prefab, Method Homes, and Dvele.
“We make 200 modules a year, and by 2024, when we open a second factory, we will be able to do 2,000 a year. The people who buy our homes have dual incomes and higher incomes, but we are moving away from customization,” says Dvele director of growth Kellan Hannah.
The individuals who seek out these prefab homes have the money to spare, as they cost an average of $500 to $600 per square foot or more.
“When site planning, transportation, finishing, and landscaping are added in, the total finished cost can double or even triple,” says Mansion Global.
Notable quote
“Brian Abramson, CEO and founder of Method Homes, a prefab builder based in the Seattle area that constructs houses whose finished prices range from $1.5 million to over $10 million, said that ‘we have seen a large increase in demand for our homes since the pandemic ‘with all the people moving and wanting to change their living situation with remote work,’” says Mansion Global.