Mansions Go Modular as Costs, Timeline Lure High-end Buyers

The stigma surrounding modular homes is coming to an end with the introduction of factory-built mansions, as seen in Washington, D.C., and some of its wealthy suburbs.

Buyers are designing their dream homes, paying at least 15 percent less, and seeing the end result in half the time it takes to build a traditional dwelling.

One couple's home was built in two weeks in a factory in Pennsylvania, with the pieces packaged into 21 boxes, trucked to the site in Bethesda, M.D., and assembled box-by-box in just 32 hours.

The traditional home being built next door was still wood beams and empty window frames three months into construction and would not be completed for another nine months.

Architects and manufacturers across the country are joining forces to create customized modular homes in the same styles as long-appreciated traditional homes. Buyers make all of the decisions for the home upfront with computer-driven drafting, which saves money. Fixed schedules, shorter construction loans, cheaper labor, and green features all add to the appeal of luxury prefab homes. Approximately two dozen homes, each valued at over $1 million, have been developed in Washington and pricier suburbs.

Some residents who initially were opposed to the idea of prefab in their traditional neighborhoods are beginning to agree that there is no visual difference between the modular and traditional finished product.

Courtesy Manufactured Housing Institute

From "Mansions Go Modular as Costs, Timeline Lure High-end Buyers"
Washington Post (03/04/10) P. B1; Rein, Lisa