How Much Does a Typical Container House Cost? A 2019 Must-Read Before Buying-Ehang Container House

A container house is not the shipping box many people imagine—it is a habitable container home. So what is a typical quote for a container house? What advantages does it offer? Here is a clear overview.

What Is a Container House?

A container house is a building system that once again rides the wave of fashion. It can be moved anytime, anywhere, bringing people a more convenient and comfortable life. Solar photovoltaic panels can supply indoor electricity; solar water heaters can provide heating and hot water; shower and domestic wastewater are purified by a sewage treatment system so they can be reused. Depending on occupancy, container houses can be built in different sizes.

Using containers to build homes is a fresh idea: green and eco-friendly, time-saving and labor-saving, and highly flexible. Compared with traditional housing, it gives households more choices—individuals, families, even whole communities can get what they need. A steel-box home can still feel stylish and is very friendly to the environment.

In China, container houses appear most often on construction sites, because a so-called container house is essentially a type of movable panel building. These habitable containers are mainly rented on sites for workers, though some people also buy or rent them privately. The biggest advantage is low price: a 3×6 m container rents for $0.83/day—only about $25 a month, or about $300 a year. To buy one, each unit is about $1,389, and can also be customized to the buyer's needs.

Experts believe that when affordable housing is in short supply or buyers face restrictions, developing “habitable containers” may be an effective way to ease housing difficulties for lower-income groups in the future.

Advantages of Container Houses
Easy to transport—especially suited to units that often change work sites;
Strong and durable—all-steel construction with high earthquake and deformation resistance;
Excellent sealing—strict manufacturing gives these movable buildings very good watertightness;
Built on a standard steel chassis, they can be combined into many spaces such as meeting rooms, dormitories, kitchens, and bathrooms. Standard width is 2.4 m, height 2.2 m, and length from 4 m to 12 m.
Easy to assemble and dismantle, strong performance, stable and firm, good shock resistance, waterproof, fireproof, and corrosion-resistant, yet lightweight. The house is an integral structure with an internal frame and steel-plate walls that can be finished with wood panels; it can be moved as a whole and may last more than 20 years.
Container House Prices

2018 container house pricing depends on the specific configuration. Below are configuration plans and prices from our company's container house manufacturing, plus quotes from some makers for container house conversions—useful for reference:

Container house [fireproof, waterproof, moisture-proof, windproof, earthquake-resistant, rainproof] $3,306. Dimensions:

Single-box movable house (standard), 20-ft container, 6058×2438×2680 (mm)

Assembled box-type movable houses, 40-, 60-, 80-ft containers, etc., can be stacked up/down or side by side, and can also be produced to customer requirements.

Container house [sunny self-living type] $6,944 and up

Dimensions:

Single-box movable house (standard), 20-ft container, 6058×2438×2680 (mm)

Assembled box-type movable houses, 40-, 60-, 80-ft containers, etc., can be stacked up/down or side by side, and can also be produced to customer requirements.