Are prefabricated houses a viable option for future construction?

If you mean manufactured housing, I would answer yes. The cost to build a home at the building site is much more expensive and wasteful versus building a home in a factory setting. The materials are identical in most instances. The building of modular homes to State Code are built to the same specifications using the same building materials as site built homes hence the State Code designation.

The HUD Code homes are built exactly the same way as a State Code home is built in a factory except the HUD Code home is built on a steel frame that stays with the home. The home can be placed literally anywhere, on a basement, crawl space or in a mobile home park. The State Code modular home has a different floor system that is similar to a site built home made entirely of wood. The home is transported to the site on a steel frame but the frame is returned to the factory and does not stay with the home. These State Code homes must be put on a basement or crawlspace and cannot be placed in mobile home parks.

I have read several years' worth of manufactured housing magazines. It is quite fascinating how the units are built utilizing some of the latest appliances, fireplaces, sinks, faucets, Jacuzzi tubs just like a site built home. In fact, in most instances, it is very hard to distinguish between a site built home and a home manufactured in a factory.

The total cost of the home is significantly less as well in the end. These homes can run the gamut of inexpensive homes under $35,000 to homes costing upwards of $1 million. The lavish homes I saw in the trade magazines were truly amazing. They can be customized adding windows, sliding glass doors, French doors, wood or gas burning fireplaces, different cabinets, cove molding, baseboard molding, anythng you can imagine from a dizzying selection of options.

My answer is a resounding yes to your question. Just look online at the different home manufacturers and what sort of products they are now offering. The insulation values are much improved on the new homes now versus years ago. The manufactured homes are very energy efficient also.

These units can be one family homes, duplex, triplex configurations for apartment houses, Two story homes, Two story apartment houses, offices single and two story models, shopping centers, you name it, it can be built by one of the many manufacturers here in America. The factories usually only ship a state or two away from the factory. There are many regional factories say for the NorthWest of America, the Deep South, the NorthEast all offering homes that are suitable in design of the exterior and wind loads and roof loads and insulation.

It makes for some fascinating reading to see just how far this industry has come in 50 years. I would definitely give the industry an overall A+ in the cost savings and design features.