The British housing sector is in crisis.
The problem certainly is not with central
percent since March 2009, but with the estimated shortfall of 750,000 homes
around the country by 2025, according to a report by the independent Institute
for Public Policy Research.
One method growing in popularity is the “flat-pack” house, a
label that covers a variety of prefabricated house building techniques that
generally involve making wall units or modules in a factory and assembling them
on-site.
According to a 2012 study by the Royal Institute of
Chartered Surveyors, “flat-pack” homes can be as much as 10 percent cheaper
than traditional houses — although that statistic does not take into account
the cost of land. They also are quicker to assemble, and need fewer materials
and a smaller work force, the study says.
Of course,
has used this idea before. After World War II, the British government tried to
meet the housing shortage by building more than 150,000 homes out of precast
concrete and materials like asbestos, tin and aluminum.
Today, the prefab has proved popular in
has teamed up with BoKlok homes to sell flat-pack houses at prices ranging from
£70,000, or $108,000, for a one-bedroom unit to £150,000 for a three-bedroom
house.
BoKlok also has sold more than 5,000 of their own designs in
