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Comment by kdamica | Hacker News Reader

Relevant disclaimer in the description:

"DOES NOT INCLUDE WINDOWS, DOORS, PLUMBING, ELECTRICAL, ENGINEERING, FIXTURES. IT IS NOT A STOCK MODEL AND IS MADE TO ORDER. PLEASE NOTE THAT AMAZON's MAX HANDLING TIME IN THE SYSTEM IS 30 DAYS BUT YOU MUST ALLOW 120 DAYS AFTER ORDERING FOR DELIVERY."

At $150,000, how does this compare to building a house from scratch given all that's left out? Seems expensive to me for just walls, floors and a roof.

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It is pretty expensive considering the cost of those items are pretty dang high, especially windows and doors of which numerous windows are custom shapes. Not to mention the labor costs of it all which are not included and are going to cost atleast as much as the materials. So it is closer to 300K for just the framework. I also don't see other things mentioned like roofing material or insulation and the whole thing needs to be painted or finished. The foundation is also a large cost.

150K seems overpriced. For comparison, I can buy a similar 2600sf home, built, for 275K -- ready to move in, completely finished plumbing, electrical, etc. That's from a local "custom" builder that builds from a standard set of stock plans. In both cases you have to buy the land and pay for the prep.

Check out menards or a local lumber package.. 2 carpenters can frame a house pretty quick so.. I would say until we get ikea modular houses pre wired and plumbed that this isn’t worth it.

One of my clients was a modular architecture firm. They had a nice set of contemporary designs of varying square footage. Most were in the 2500-3500 sq foot range and went from 225K and up.

They said their main problem was people asking for a 6,000 sq ft modular home for under 200K. They were under the impression modular homes should be cheaper and you should get tons more square footage. Nope, most of the same rules applies to modular homes. It's the process that's faster and which makes it less expensive; but not 300K less expensive.

Pretty sure they went under. Most of the post on their FB page were from 2014: https://www.facebook.com/HiveModular/app/143965932308817/?re...

It’s more of a stunt or wholesale type thing.

A normal manufactured home is a much better value, and includes things like code compliance and plumbing.

Is a "normal manufactured home" a mobile home/trailer?

Yes. The other replies are missing the distinction. A manufactured home is traditionally a mobile home. There is a wide range of sizes (single wide, double wide, triple wide) with a range in quality/price. These are the ones you see cut in half on a truck trailer on the highway. A more modern approach has become the Pre-fab homes. These can have a wider range of shapes than the rectangle which helps avoid the “mobile home” stigma. The manufacturing is also done in a warehouse to build pieces Of the house on a production line, like the walls, floor and roofs, that are stacked on a trailer and then erected as a puzzle on the building site. The advantage of pre-fab is that there is less waste and because components are built in a warehouse, they can be built during winter for assembly in spring. Hope this helps.

> A more modern approach has become the Pre-fab homes.

This isn't just a modern approach. See the Sears kit homes of the early 20th century.

My parents built their ~2800sq ft (not including basement) two story house back in 1976, and it came as a kit on a truck. My dad and uncle, with help from friends, built it, farming out specialist jobs (plumbing, including septic system, etc) as needed.

No, they can build modular homes in all sorts of different configurations. A relative had a ~2,000 sq ft house built this way, it was faster and cheaper to build than a traditional hose. It came in 5-6 sections iirc.

Doesn't a mobile home have wheel?

No. Many modern homes are manufactured off-site and then assembled on-site.

"manufactured" is the modern equivalent of a mobile home. You're referring to "modular"

https://www.claytonhomes.com/studio/defined-mobile-manufactu...

The link you provided makes a distinction between mobile and manufactured homes...

I'm seeing a $46,900 price point. Where are you seeing $150k?

That well may be cheaper than you'd get from a local lumber yard, plus I assume there'll be some labor savings as it's already cut to length.

When you click "see all buying options" the only one is

> $149,591.00 New + $4.49 shipping

I'm laughing pretty hard at the $4.49 shipping. What it's not on prime at this point? : P

When I click 'See all buying options', it says $149,591. You might be looking at the 'Lower Priced Item to Consider' at the top, which is a different product.

"New (1) from $149,591.00", at the bottom of the product summary.

As you said, this looks to be more of an advertising stunt than a viable purchase. All those + foundation, land, etc means you're looking at a pricetag almost double or more $150k.

With that said, I wonder how hard it would be to sell prefab sections/houses that are already wired for electricity and plumbing straight from the warehouse.

> With that said, I wonder how hard it would be to sell prefab sections/houses that are already wired for electricity and plumbing straight from the warehouse.

I.e. a manufactured/mobile home?

More like "modular homes", where you can mix and match components and swap out a component for a different one if desired.

Project Ara^, only for e.g. "home theater room", "film darkroom", etc.

^ https://www.theverge.com/2016/5/20/11721594/google-project-a...

I was hoping for Prime shipping.

2900 sqft is actually a lot of house. With windows, plumbing, and wiring such a house would cost over $1MM in Amazon's home, Seattle.

$1MM is mostly for the real estate, not the BOM.

That's simply not true. Empty plots sell for MUCH less than half the cost of homes in the area.

But the actual construction costs aren’t that high. You’re neglecting the labor (time, effort, and redoing) required meet city codes :-(

The point of a DIY house is you do the labor... yourself.

Yep but you have to pay for the labour from the many inspectors who have to verify it's correctness and the legal cost for properly filing all the paperwork to legally allow the structure to stand.

the difference in cost between a plot with and without a house is not an honest way to gauge BOM cost; there is value in the effort, permitting, and planning.

Where I live that would go for around 400k. I’m about level to LV prices. At 150k you have a pretty strong budget for the land. Don’t know what the plumbing and electrical would run though.

Edit-Ok after looking at the photos I could see that going for more toward the 500k line. That’s a very nice home.

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