Quick Work Rapid Construction, Moderate Cost Boost Popularity Of Modular Homes
Building a custom-made house used to take months, if not years, of planning and waiting.
Now, home buyers can watch a construction team lay their home’s foundation when they wake up and see the finished product later that same day - probably before their kids get home from school.
Century 21 Randock Realtors and Stratford Building Corp. teamed up Thursday to erect a three-bedroom display house at 14525 Newport Highway.
They are among an increasing number of builders and Realtors who see modular homes as one way to control housing costs. Along with Stratford, Timberland Homes in Spokane and PBS Homes in Otis Orchards, also make stick-frame modulars.
The Newport Highway house will be a showpiece for Century 21 and Stratford as they try to market modular homes. The demonstration also illustrated some of the advantages of modular homes.
Too often, people associate “modular homes” with “mobile homes,” and that’s not necessarily the case, said Mark Murphy, manager of Century 21 Randock’s modular division.
“This isn’t a mobile home at all,” Murphy said. “You can move out walls, make rooms wider, whatever you need. You can pretty much draw your own plans.”
Flexible floor plans are one advantage stick-frame modulars have over pre-fab, but the biggest advantage is cost, Murphy said.
Because the homes can be erected in one day with four people, home buyers don’t have to pay for an array of subcontractors. One-day construction also erases the possibility of on-site vandalism, he said.
The home on Newport Highway, measuring just under 2,200 square feet, costs about $119,000 - including marble whirlpool tubs, a gas fireplace and bay windows. Smaller homes with fewer amenities can cost as little as $43,000.
A new stick-frame modular costs between $50 and $55 per square foot. Non-modular homes typically cost between $70 and $80 per square foot, Murphy said.
Another advantage to stick-frame modulars is peace of mind, Murphy said. Houses take six to eight weeks to finish, so buyers don’t have to suffer through subcontractor delays or weather problems.
“The customers know when they sign the line exactly what’s in the home and the exact cost of the home,” Murphy said.
Prospective buyers can choose from more than 50 styles of houses, from a two-bedroom cottage to a four-bedroom two-story with twoand-a-half baths. Homes range from 850 square feet to 2,500 square feet.
Stick-frame modular homes may be erected in any neighborhood or subdivision. But the homes must comply with the United Building Code, said an official at the city of Spokane’s Planning Review Desk.
As construction costs rise, the homes are coming into vogue here. Wisconsin-based Stratford, which opened its Rathdrum plant in October, has the capacity to build 350 homes a year, a Stratford official said.
To prepare for a resurgence in popularity of stick-frame modulars, Stratford is planning to expand its Rathdrum plant in the next year, he said.