Buh-Bye McMansion, Hello Modular Mansion!

Prefab, so-called "modular" mansions are the new craze in home construction, reports The Washington Post.

Modular homes, of course, have been around since the 1920s, but the trailer-like stigma of assembly-line homes has been chipped away by our tough economic times. With more luxury options available, now even monied home buyers see modular homes as a way to get more bang for their buck.

The benefit, of course, is that a modular home can be built in a fraction of the time it takes to build a custom home and for at least 15 percent less. Since so much of the construction happens in the factory, buyers have to make almost every decision up front, which saves money. A 7,200 square foot, six-bedroom home can be erected in as little as 32 hours and at a cost of about $2.5 million. A comparable custom home built from scratch would cost about $400,000 more and take up to 18 months to be built.

Bob and Kristen McCarrick had planned on building a custom home, but when the economy soured, they backed out (Bob works as an investment banker) and opted for a lower-cost prefab home. The Post says their modular mansion was built in two weeks on an assembly line in State College, Pa. and was trucked in 21 boxes to its new home in Maryland.

Another selling point for progressive home buyers? Modular homes offer lots of options for "green" building, including a guarantee of no wasted materials. In fact, property managers have been known to market the homes as "green homes," leaving out any mention of the word "modular."

Of course, not everyone's stoked about the trend. Custom builders and craftsmen see the homes as a threat.

"You're telling me it's okay for people in this neighborhood to see homes coming in on boxes?" custom builder Jim Gibson fumed to the Post. "I'm still not over it."

Check out this time-lapse video of a modular home being built in Washginton, DC. What do you think? Would you buy a modular home?

Photo by Doug McIlvain via Facebook.