Homeowners choosing cheaper manufactured houses?

Housebuyers around the world could be turning to prefabricated housing because it is cheaper than onsite alternatives, new figures from the US have suggested.

Reportlinker.com predicts demand for manufactured property will increase by three per cent over the next three years, despite many global economies struggling at the moment.

It was suggested that prefabricated homes are becoming more popular due to their cheaper cost, which may be making them more attractive to buyers as the credit crunch continues.

Members of the construction industry who are interested in the new study can order it from Reportlinker's website.

One key area of growth will be the precut market, with rises in imports expected to grow by two per cent a year until 2011.

Another country where prefabricated construction could be set to boom is Australia, where the government is looking at building a number of the homes to solve a problem with "ghettos", according to the Tasmanian Mercury.