Although the concept of prefabricated homes is nothing new, advances are being made within the realm, helping drive down costs while minimizing environmental impact. Connect:Homes, a California-based modular homebuilder, recently launched a new line of affordable, exportable, and sustainable modular homes that ship from the factory already up to 90 percent complete, helping to cut down on additional costs associated with the traditional homebuilding process.

Because of Connect:Homes’ ability to be shipped in modules via truck, rail, or sea, accessibility is no longer limited to the region immediately surrounding the factory itself. With per-square-foot costs as low as two-thirds those of its contemporaries on the traditional market as well as designs that have finally begun to catch up with modern aesthetic expectations, going prefab is becoming a more viable alternative than ever.

Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation gained media traction this past year with its rollout of modular homes to help rebuild areas affected by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast region, and there’s been an uptick in dialogue about the environmental impact of prefab options for various socioeconomic populations across the United States.

For its part, Connect:Homes addresses the concerns of homebuyers who want to make eco-conscious choices by claiming all its homes are ”designed to achieve LEED for Homes Silver out of the factory” and that “once installed, they come with systems and finishes that could potentially help them reach Gold or Platinum.” Helping to bridge the gap between affordability and sustainability in a challenged but evolving housing market, prefabricated homes may have finally found their niche.

Photo credits: Connect:Homes

Tweet