5 Websites Where You Can Order a Prefab House for Under $250,000

From 1908 through 1942, Sears sold more than 70,000 prefab homes that could be constructed from a kit. These days, Sears home kits are no longer, but prefab homes are alive and well. Rather than ordering them from a catalog, though, you can buy prefab homes online. With a few clicks, you’ll have purchased a whole house just as easily as you buy shoes or groceries. 

Prefab homes, by definition, are prefabricated (or pre-constructed) dwellings that are manufactured in sections, then assembled onsite. They’re often better for the environment than building a conventional home, and can be more affordable, to boot. They also usually qualify for home construction loans, and as an added bonus, are highly customizable.

Here are five great sites where you can buy a prefab home for $250,000 or less.

Ecocor is a Maine-based company that builds sustainable prefab homes. Its Solsken line, named for the Swedish word for sunshine, is a solar-powered wonder. Each home comes equipped with a “Heat Recovery Ventilator,” which provides a constant supply of filtered, fresh air. Ecocor’s Clover model, meanwhile, is a two bedroom, one bedroom house that’s 1,051 square feet. The shell starts at $235,000 and includes exterior and interior walls, the ventilation system, roof structure, air-sealing and insulation, windows, and exterior doors.

Plant Prefab custom builds sustainable single-family and multi-family homes. You can choose to work with your own architect on a one-of-a-kind design, or choose one of their standard homes created by one of their design partners.

Plant Prefab’s standard homes come in a number of different sizes and floor plans. One of the most unique is the Brooks + Scarpa Nest, a scalable and adaptable kit for a multi-family housing unit. It was originally designed to aid in the lack of housing for the homeless population in Los Angeles.

Yep, the same website you order basically everything from can also sell you a house. Amazon offers a number of prefab homes, including this kit for an expandable tiny home from Zolyndo that’s $19,999. The kit comes with everything you need to get started, but doesn’t include furniture and circuits.

Ideabox sells a wide range of prefab homes, and works with customers to customize dwellings to each site. With 3D modeling programs, builders can visualize factors like slope, views, sun, shade, and access to ensure your home is placed in the exact right spot. 

Ideabox offers a number of one -, two-, and three-bedroom dwellings, with their least expensive option being the nw.modern, a 552 square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bath dwelling with a starting price of $190,000. The company ships to a handful of states in the western part of the U.S, though plans for expansion are on the horizon.

Founded in 1995, Bamboo Living manufactures eco-friendly bamboo homes. The company prides itself on saving about 10 acres of forest by using bamboo, compared to other building materials.

Bamboo Living offers two types of packages. The Hybrid Home Package consists of double-walled homes that are conventionally framed onsite and need lumber and wall materials purchased by the customer locally. The Signature Home Package consists of homes that are made with bamboo-framed single walls, and they can be constructed straight out of the container. The package that you choose depends a lot on the climate where you live, as the Hybrid Home Package is best for homes that will require insulation for heating or cooling. 

The Celestial 1000 model is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,000-square foot rectangular home inspired by Mayan architecture. It’s available in both package styles, with a price of $86,550 for the Hybrid Home Package and $112,550 for the Signature Bamboo Home Package. The company’s packages can be shipped to any container port around the world, and they are typically sent within three to six months of placing an order.