The median construction cost for modular comes in at $146,000, over $50,000 less than a comparable stick-built home, according to figures supplies by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
The median square foot value for modular in 2014 was $76, $8 less than that for site built, even if the modular home is highly customized. According to NAHB statistics, construction time for modular was 5.4 months versus 6.2 months for site built, and as MHProNews knows, modular homes are built inside a factory, away from inclement weather that can damage materials and stall progress.
Modular home construction methods are much more common in Scandinavia than in the U. S. where factory-built homes comprised only two percent of single-family homes completed in 2014, down from four percent in the late 1990s.
Modular is utilized more for businesses in the U. S. for everything from cruise ships to hospitals, hotels and retail businesses.
According to the U. S. Census Bureau, modular single-family homes have been more prominent in the Northeast, where in Jan. 2014 they comprised eight percent of new homes, as compared to two percent in the Midwest and one percent in the South.
However, a stigma remains because of their association with manufactured homes, and the Modular Home Builders Association is trying to break this misconception by coordinating a national marketing effort to dispel the myths. ##
(Photo credit: shutterstock-modular home being sited)
