Is there a reason people aren't looking at modular homes to fix the home crisis?

There are not many trailers or ‘modular homes’ up here. That always struck me as strange. Is it because it’s so cold here and easy for pipes underneath to freeze?
 
Well, as long as you have a little heat inside the trailer, you should be fine. As long as there's some kind of heat source down there, you shouldn't have any issues.

The thing about modular homes, though, is that people need to stop confusing them with trailer parks. That's not what modular homes are. A modular home is simply a regular house that's built differently.

For example, a factory might manufacture the materials and components for five different home models. They build the sections, deliver them to the property, and assemble everything on-site, almost like putting together Lego blocks.

At the end of the day, it's still a normal house. The only real difference is that most of the construction happens in a factory rather than entirely on the property. At least that is what it looks like to me. Why we're not doing this is beyond me.

Here is one that is over 8000 sq feet.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMN8XcGyiGQ&t=1120s
 
@border_humper who knows. I'm too lazy to do that much research but if you want homes built fast this is a good way to do it.

Canada has to do something. I mean they've tried nothing and they're all out of ideas.
 
TOPDAWG said:
If you watch a bunch of videos on YouTube you'll see How nice they are. These things have gotten really nice. The main issue is people think modular home they think trailer park and that's not the case at all.
This is a good Channel if you want to see a few of them. The guy hosting is annoying.



View: https://youtu.be/0vRgB2FTNDM
Click to expand...
TOPDAWG
Maybe cos they’re not really “affordable” either?

I bought my rancher on 0.7 acres in 2014 for the price of a modular home or prefab in 2026… and then you actually have to have a place to put said modular home…
For comparison trailer park homes (at least they already have a spot to sit on) now go for the same price as my place did back then.
 
Well if Canada wants homes they need something.


Yes! In fact, that's one of the biggest advantages of modular homes. You can have essentially the same house as a traditionally built home, often for less money.

There are a few things worth understanding.

1. Are modular homes cheaper?​

Generally, yes.

Modular homes can cost approximately 5–20% less than traditionally built homes, depending on the design, location, materials, and labour costs. HomeGuide

The savings come from:

  • Factories buying building materials in bulk.
  • Workers building indoors rather than dealing with weather delays.
  • Assembly-line production being more efficient.
  • Less wasted building material.
  • Shorter construction times.
However, remember that land, foundations, utility connections, permits, driveways, and landscaping can add considerably to the total cost.

2. Are they the same size as traditional houses?​

Absolutely!

There is no requirement that modular homes be small.

You can have:

  • 1,200-square-foot homes.
  • 1,800-square-foot homes.
  • 2,500-square-foot homes.
  • 3,000-square-foot homes or larger.
  • Two-storey homes.
  • Three-bedroom or five-bedroom homes.
  • Attached garages, basements, porches and decks.
You can even have large, beautiful custom-designed homes.

3. Are they built to the same standards?​

This is an important distinction.

A genuine modular home:

  • Must meet the applicable state and local residential building codes.
  • Has conventional plumbing and electrical systems.
  • Sits on a permanent foundation.
  • Can have drywall, hardwood floors, granite countertops and everything else you'd expect in a traditional house.
  • Can generally qualify for conventional mortgages.
It's legally and structurally different from a manufactured home (mobile home). Fannie Mae Single-Family

4. Do they hold their value?​

Generally, yes. Modular homes are treated much like traditionally constructed homes for financing and appraisal purposes.

Their resale value depends on the location, land, construction quality and comparable properties in the neighbourhood.

5. Can you tell the difference?​

In many cases, absolutely not.

Once the home is assembled, the exterior finished, and the landscaping completed, you could be standing in front of a modular home and have absolutely no idea it was built in a factory.

My take​

I think modular homes are one of the most misunderstood options in residential construction.

People hear factory-built and immediately picture a trailer park.

But imagine ordering a 2,000-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bathroom house with a double garage.

The factory builds the sections, trucks them to your property, and a crew assembles them on a permanent foundation.

You end up with a regular house. The difference is simply where it was constructed, not what kind of home it is.
 
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@TOPDAWG Well let’s play shall we. Let’s do worst case for everything but the cost of the actual modular home and everyone actually pays what the land is worth.

My place has a current land value of 400k something something. Let’s say a low end modular home is 150k plus transport and setup (let’s just imagine 100k). You’re sitting at 650k now.
You can buy a trailer in a trailer park in my area for around 245k. Which is what I paid for my rancher on almost an acre 12 years ago… there were also vacant land areas for under 50k in this area then.

Let’s even say I buy land in Prince George for 50k. Again modular home is 150k… you’ll be paying again for transport and setup which is 100k though considering where it has to go it might even be more. So you’re around 300k.
A trailer in a trailer park in Prince George, cheapest my 5 second google search showed was 85k… up to 265k.
An existing trailer on some sort of land upwards of 400k.
Basically in the same range as townhouses in the area.

So I think that may be why people don’t look into modular or tiny homes beyond what is already established in a trailer park. Cos there are no savings, it’s not actually cheaper than all the other shit.
 
The biggest barrier for people buying homes is the downpayment. CMHC nearly makes it worthless to buy a home. The issue with "housing costs" isn't just the price of housing, it's the rent prices also. A lot of people rent instead of buy for good reason not because they're poor and can't afford a home. I've owned two homes and lost money on both because I've lived in 10 different cities my whole life. Guys like me rent but I'm still suffering from $2095/month rent on a single bedroom apartment but I prefer it over buying. Still, I complain about housing costs because rents should be half what I pay for a single bedroom. If it were my quality of life goes way up. Buying a comparable homebro what I rent even if I could wouldn't make me any better off. In fact I'm better off renting.
 
@CaptainTrouble There are also costs that come with owning that you don’t have to worry about when renting and a lot of people don’t even consider those until they’ve signed the papers. Though condos are another nightmare altogether cos if the building fails, guess who gets to pay? That’s right, you do if you’re owning as opposed to renting though your rent might increase as well.

House insurance (which goes up exponentially when you don’t have a fire hydrant nearby), property taxes, you’re on the hook for everything that fails, strata costs if you were dumb enough to buy into that…
 
@Squishybear as a finance major I used to do rent vs. buy comparisons all the time and factor those things into the equation. There's also appliances and unexpected maintenance. If you aren't in a condo, there's yard work and let me tell you if you're a single guy, doing yard work without a wife and kids at home to appreciate it and support you, that yard work gets old fast and you'll be dying for a condo. But condo fees are a joke like you say. No one has time for being on the board and if you think National politics are full of corrupt assholes wait until your board is full of contractors trying to give all them and their buddies contracts or old crotchety women that believe the world should revolve around them. Fees go way up and your services go down. We've been in low interest rate times for a while, wait as rated go up and then eventually come down. Condo owners are going to get mismanaged condo reserves asking for top ups or significant increases to condo fees. It's a disaster waiting to happen.
 
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There are pros and cons for sure.
Biggest con is the homes themselves are a depreciating asset, leaving only the land itself as an appreciating asset. Which, in a place that will permit someone to install a modular home, means that a buyer could potentially lose money in the long term. Homes have always been a wealth generator on top of a place to live, so this makes it less attractive.
 
Want cheaper homes? Raise interest rates. Cheap money caused the problem to begin with.
 
Raising interest rates would do a lot of good for society.

When you have low interest rates, sometimes less value is added to the economy not more because people are lending to everything while paying less attention to the value-add of what they're lending too. Even respectable financial institutions are forced to lend to questionable deals to stay competitive. As interest rates rise the quality of lending goes up and most projects that get financed end up being far more likely to add value to the economy.

A lot of problems in society today are caused by cheap money. We went overboard in the cheap money direction and are paying prices for it. 8% interest rates would fix a lot of things.
 
Because the house part is cheap. It’s the land, permits, utilities and other nonsense that represents a significant chunk of the price of a house.
 
That would also be why there’s a massive push for density in the cities. Put multiple living units on one existing water and sewage line because the cities just can’t afford to lay more pipes.
 
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Well you see how well that works with Calgary. They're having an absolute emergency crisis with their Water now. The damn system and pipes are literally exploding all over the place.

I think they're saying water prices are going to go up 70% there just so they can start fixing this shit.
 
@TOPDAWG I’m living it. They put the city into emergency mode to hookup the replacement pipe for the 6foot diameter one that blew twice. But that still doesn’t address the +/- 20% of water that is lost to leaks in the system. There is a persistent wet spot at the end of my alley. I bet it’s a slow leak, and the city isn’t going to spend the $20,000 to fix it until it lets go and becomes a massive leak.
 
@BeerAndOil Sounds like my workplace!

Upgrade the water pipe? Nah Mr. Engineer, that’s like several thousand dollars!

Oh the water pipe exploded on both ends? Oh well, let’s pay the several tens of thousands of dollars to get it fixed then Mr. Engineer!
 
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