Prefabricated Homes Attracting Buyers At Both Ends Of The Housing Spectrum

"Sam Sendee, chef and owner of Thai House Restaurant in Danville, bought one of Valley Home Development's "granny units," a 600-square foot, two-bedroom, one-bath manufactured guest house for his 82-year-old mother and teenage daughter after seeing it at the Spa, Pool and Patio Expo last year in Pleasanton.

"We liked the idea of a separate unit for privacy," Sendee, 44 , said. "They had a pretty good system to build a house and it's a very reasonable price."

The $120,000 structure was placed in his back yard in Dublin by a crane before being affixed to a permanent foundation. In the next few weeks, it will be stuccoed and painted and look as if it had been part of the construction all along, said Steve Vallejos, 39, owner of Valley Home Development in Fairfield."

"Standard site-built homes cost about $250 a square foot, said Vallejos, while manufactured housing can be as low as $120 a square foot"

Prefab homes have also caught on with consumers look for a eco-friendly abode.

"Marmol Radziner Prefab in Los Angeles sells standard modular homes that come with solar panels. Their cheapest model is a one-bedroom, one-bath offered at $211,800 (solar panels are about $28,000 extra.) Michelle Kaufmann Designs in Oakland also sells her "environmentally-friendly" two-bedroom, two-bath, 1,347-square-foot modular Glidehouse for $188,580."