For many people, building their ideal home is a lifelong dream, and one of the first questions they ask is whether modular homes are cheaper. You find a piece of land you love, and it’s time to find builders to make your dream a reality. As you get into planning and construction, your excitement may fade as you discover that it ends up costing more and taking longer than you had planned. People in this position may wish they had known sooner about modular homes.
In this post, we compare modular and stick-built homes. We look at the building process, time frame, design, cost, financing, quality and resale value. Understanding these factors can help you make an informed decision when it comes time to build your dream home.
What Is the Difference Between a Stick Built Home and a Modular Home?
If you’ve looked into building a home, you may have seen the term stick-built home. So, what exactly is a stick built house? It refers to the way crews construct the house. The traditional building process for a home happens entirely on-site at the property. The builders lay a foundation and builds the home, board by board — or stick by stick — until it’s complete. That is why people often call traditional homes stick-built homes.
Stick-built homes are still the norm. In recent years, however, more home buyers have discovered that building on site isn’t the only path to their dream home.
Another term you may have come across is modular homes. So, what is a modular home? Factory crews build these homes in large three-dimensional sections, or modules. Then carriers haul the modules to the property, where crews assemble them. Your contractor will attach the modules to your foundation and to each other so the house is complete. The finished product will meet all the same local building codes that a stick-built home would have to meet. People sometimes call modular homes “prefab” houses because crews prefabricate the sections off-site.
Note, however, that other types of prefabricated homes, like manufactured or mobile homes, differ from modular homes. Factories build them entirely in-house and ship them in one piece. So, discussions of manufactured homes vs. stick-built homes won’t give you accurate information about modular homes since they inhabit their own category.
The Evolution of Modular Homes
Prefabricated homes are nothing new. From 1910 to 1940, Sears Roebuck Co. sold more than 500,000 prefab homes. Modular homes became especially popular in the U.S. after World War II when American troops arrived home and needed affordable housing. Modular homes have been around for a long time. Only in recent years, though, have options grown enough to make buying modular feel much like buying stick-built.
In the past, factors like your desired style, size, floor plan and materials would help predetermine whether or not you would use a modular home builder or build a stick-built home, but that’s no longer the case. It’s no wonder the U.S. prefabricated home industry grew by 8.6 percent over the past five years. That makes it one of the fastest-growing sectors in construction.
Since most people are more familiar with traditional stick-built homes, if you’re interested in purchasing a modular home, you’ll want to compare it to a conventional home. Below, we’ll look at five important homebuilding factors and how the two types compare to each other.
1. Building Process
We’ve already touched on how builders construct stick-built and modular homes. Let’s look more closely at the difference. Crews construct stick-built homes entirely from scratch on site. This has some advantages and some disadvantages. A possible advantage is that you can visit the site whenever you want to see how things are coming along. In many cases, you’ll join your contractor for a frame walk, where you can let them know if you’d like to make any changes before the builders begin adding drywall.
One disadvantage of building from the ground up outdoors is exposure to the weather. This means weather can delay construction, as we’ll discuss in the next section. Framing lumber can also get wet and warp. That can cause problems if it doesn’t dry out fully before the drywall goes on.
Crews build modular homes assembly-line style in a climate-controlled factory. You won’t see every stage of construction, but the weather is never an issue. When the modules arrive at your property, they typically have everything from wiring, insulation and plumbing to flooring, windows and doors in place. The contractors on site will have very little finishing work they have to do at that point.
2. Time Frame
Time is a significant concern for many people buying a home. You may need to leave your current home by a set date. Or you may want to move in before a new baby or a new school year. Either way, a construction process that drags on creates a lot of stress.
A timeline can be especially important if you’re rebuilding your home after a disaster because some insurance companies require you to rebuild within a strict time frame. Whatever your deadline, traditional home construction often takes longer than planned.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average time it takes to build a home is six and a half months. Larger or more customized homes take even longer. Some houses may take closer to a year from start to finish. Though your builders will give you an expected timeline, it is not uncommon for weather delays or other problems to extend the timeline. If you’re not in any hurry, this may not be a problem, but the unpredictability of a stick-built home timeline is a disadvantage to most people.
Most modular homes are complete within three and a half to five months — much sooner than a stick-built home. The building process is more controlled and streamlined with a modular home, so you aren’t likely to run into delays. One major time-saver is that your property can be prepped and the foundation built while the modules of the home are already being constructed in a factory.
3. Design
One of the downsides to a modular house in the past was that they had a “cookie-cutter” appearance and weren’t customizable. With a stick-built home, there has always been endless possibilities for customization. You can look at sample plans from your builder and work to create a design you love. Some people employ an architect to help design their home.
While modular homes may have shared a similar appearance to each other in the past, today, modular homes offer nearly the same possibility for customization as stick-built homes. Looking through a picture gallery of modular homes will reveal that there is no distinguishing look for a modular home. They vary just as widely as site-built homes do. This means you can enjoy the process of designing your modular home and creating something truly unique.
For the home’s exterior, you can choose an architectural style you love. Whether you want a cape cod, ranch, two-story home or any other style, you can make it a reality with a modular home. On the inside, there are limitless options for the floorplan. You can choose a pre-designed floor plan you like, adapt an existing floor plan or work with your builder to create a fully-customized floor plan for your modular home.
It isn’t just the layout of the house that you can customize. You can also put your own personal touch on your home in your choice of materials, bathroom design, kitchen design and more. In the end, a modular home can look exactly like a stick-built home with the same level of sophistication and a design you love. You’ve probably been in many modular buildings before without ever realizing they weren’t built the traditional way. This is because there is no real difference in appearance between the two.
View Our Modular Home Floor Plans
4. Are Modular Homes Cheaper? Cost and Financing
The cost of a modular home vs. a stick-built is one reason some people consider a modular home to begin with. Cost is always an important consideration for homebuyers who have often saved for many years to afford to build a house. According to a Pew Research Center analysis of recent Census Bureau housing data, renting has become more common today than it has been at any other time in the last 50 years. One survey revealed that 72 percent of renters would like to buy a house, but most said financial reasons held them back.
The good news for budget-conscious home buyers is that modular homes tend to be a bit more affordable than stick-built homes. As with any building project, more premium materials will always drive up the cost, so choosing a modular home is not a guarantee that you’ll stay within your budget. The highest-end modular homes tend to cost the same per square foot as an equivalent stick-built home. On average, though, a modular home typically costs anywhere from 10 to 20 percent less than a new stick-built home. Of course new construction, modular or stick-built is more expensive than the same, pre-existing home.
So, why is the price of a modular home vs. a stick-built home different? One major reason is the controlled factory setting. Stick-built projects, by contrast, can run into weather events or material shortages that drag out the process and raise the final cost. Another cost-saver for modular home builders is that they often have in-house inspectors who ensure the quality of your home as it’s being built.
One cost that modular homes carry with them that stick-built homes don’t is transportation. Trucks deliver modular homes to your site. So the number of modules and the distance from the factory can affect the final price.
Whatever your home costs, you can finance it in any of the same ways you could finance a stick-built home. Some mortgage lenders are willing to finance a modular home at a lower interest rate since there are fewer risks involved.
5. Quality
Modular home quality over time is another big question that many have in mind. Exactly how long do modular homes last? The life span of the home depends on several factors, including the quality of materials, the ability to withstand the elements and maintenance.
Material Quality
Constructing sound modular homes requires investing in premium materials for building. You want to use materials that can last long periods of time yet are still relatively easy to work with. For instance, wood is popular because it is a good insulator against electricity, gains strength from heat when it dries out and is easy to manipulate.
The quality of the materials used in the home will have a direct impact on how long it lasts and how much maintenance it needs. Builders can use the same quality materials in a modular home as in a site-built home. So you can expect it to last for generations. With either type of home, the quality of the materials used is up to your personal choice and budget considerations.
To make sure the material used for your home is of the highest quality and lasts a long time, talk with your builder.
Protection From the Elements
A quality-built modular home can withstand the weather conditions typical of its location. Since the manufacturer builds the home sections indoors, the materials are not exposed to the changing weather. Without early exposure, materials don’t swell or shift. That builds stronger structural integrity from the start and protects the home’s quality over time.
Maintenance
Keeping up with maintenance will help protect the quality and prolong the life of your modular home. Simple outdoor chores help your modular home last. For example, watch for ice buildup on the roof in winter and clear the gutters in spring.
If you want a luxury home built from the highest-quality materials, you can do this with a modular home. So, if you’re wondering how long modular homes last, the answer is just as long as stick-built homes, if not longer. Plan the structure carefully before construction and keep up with maintenance. Then a modular home’s quality and life span will match or beat homes built other ways.
6. Resale Value
Some people may shy away from modular homes because they fear they will depreciate in value. A home is an investment, and most people want it to be a smart investment, even if they never plan to move out. There is a significant difference in the resale value of manufactured homes vs. stick-built. However, this is not the case for modular homes.
Modular homes used to suffer from a similar stigma as manufactured homes that caused their value to depreciate slightly over time. However, this stigma is no longer a concern. For one, modular homes have become more popular. From 2011 to 2017, around 100,000 modular homes were built in the U.S. Improvements in the process and higher standards in materials have resulted in modular homes matching the quality of stick-built homes.
Many factors can affect your home’s resale value, such as its curb appeal, location, lot size and more. In general, though, there is no difference in a modular home value vs. stick-built. Both stick-built and modular homes are made to last and tend to appreciate value over time. This means, if you ever decide to move, you may be able to sell your home for more than you paid for. Your house will be a home as well as a wise financial investment.
Create Your Dream Home With Design. Build. Modular.
At Design. Build. Modular., we offer a turn-key service for modular homes in Massachusetts and Connecticut. We help you design your perfect modular home, either based on a standard floor plan or completely customized. Whatever your vision is for your home, we can bring it to life. We can help you choose materials that fit within your budget and will complete the look you desire for your home, both inside and out.
We make sure all the logistics are in place from the start so your home can be finished in a timely manner. As timely as we are in building your home, we never compromise on our workmanship. We adhere to all the relevant standards and codes, and all modules are inspected to ensure they meet our standards for quality.
We are so confident in the quality of our homes that we offer a 10-year structural warranty on any modular home we build — an exceptionally long warranty in the construction industry. This means that if any maintenance or repairs are needed during the first decade you’re in your home, we will cover them at no cost to you.
If you’re interested in learning more about modular homes or finding out how we can help make your dream home a reality, contact Design. Build. Modular. today.