Rural Prefabricated Houses

Rural prefabricated houses are a modern housing construction model where components are prefabricated in factories and assembled on-site, boasting advantages in terms of cost, construction period, industrial chain, and more, with active market performances both domestically and internationally.

Cost Advantages Vary by Region

The cost advantages of prefabricated houses vary across different regions. In rural China, traditional self-built houses require the self-purchase of bricks, tiles, and cement, as well as the hiring of local villagers for construction. A typical house costs between one hundred thousand and two hundred thousand yuan, with a limited cost advantage compared to prefabricated houses. However, in rural Henan, prefabricated houses cost only over 300 yuan per square meter and come with a 70-year quality guarantee, still appealing to rural families with limited incomes. In European and American countries, due to a shortage of construction workers and high labor costs (ranging from 200 to 500 US dollars per day), the cost of traditional housing construction exceeds one million yuan, while a prefabricated house produced in China costs only 200,000 yuan, offering significant cost-effectiveness.

Significantly Shorter Construction Periods

Traditional housing construction involves processes such as organizing construction teams, purchasing materials, on-site pouring, and bricklaying and plastering, with construction periods lasting several months and severely affected by weather conditions like the rainy season. Prefabricated houses, through standardized factory production, prefabricate components such as walls and roofs in advance, requiring only assembly on-site. For example, prefabricated houses in rural Henan can be produced in one day and assembled on-site, while a fully furnished house in Wujin District, Changzhou, Jiangsu, was completed in just 7 days, completely unaffected by adverse weather.

Controversy Over Living Quality

Some Chinese farmers believe that prefabricated houses have insufficient structural stability, with module connections prone to cracking and water leakage, making them less durable than traditional self-built houses and mostly used for temporary housing on construction sites or transitional living. However, prefabricated houses in rural Henan are built with reinforced concrete, offering good structural strength and stability, capable of withstanding external impacts and natural environmental challenges.

Active Market Performances Domestically and Abroad

The overseas market has strong demand, with China's prefabricated building exports growing by 45% in the first half of 2024. Guangdong Customs saw a 38.1% year-on-year surge in export value in the first four months, while the export value at Shenzhen Port reached 1.68 billion yuan, a 19.6% year-on-year increase, with products sold to over 150 countries and regions. The domestic market, due to rising costs of building materials and labor, has seen rural self-built housing plans postponed or reduced. The prefabricated housing model emerging in rural Henan is now flowing back into the domestic market, such as the completion of the first "prefabricated rural house" in Wujin District, Changzhou, Jiangsu. Leveraging a complete industrial chain from design and R&D to overseas installation, China has achieved large-scale, low-cost, and high-quality production, transforming prefabricated houses into standard industrial products for export.