Prefabricated Construction in the Residential Real Estate Market

March 2025

http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/remav-2025-0004

Authors:

Małgorzata Krajewska
Nicolaus Copernicus University

Ewa Siemińska
Nicolaus Copernicus University

Izabela Rącka
Calisia University - Kalisz Poland

Kinga Szopińska
Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology

Ivo Kostov
University of Economics Varna

PREFABRICATED CONSTRUCTION IN THE RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET

Małgorzata Krajewska¹, Ewa Siemińska², Izabela Rącka³*, Kinga Szopińska¹, Ivo Kostov⁴

1. Department of Geodesy, Spatial Management and Real Estate, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, 7 prof. S. Kaliskiego Av., 85-796 Bydgoszcz, Poland, (MK) e-mail: malgorzata.krajewska@pbs.edu.pl, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8541-2295; (KS) e-mail: k.szopinska@pbs.edu.pl, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2702-936X
2. Department of Investment and Real Estate, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, ul. Gagarina 11, 87-100 Toruń, Poland, e-mail: ewahsiem@umk.pl, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8885-0338
3. Institute of Social Sciences, University of Kalisz, ul. Nowy Świat 4, 62-800 Kalisz, Poland, e-mail: i.racka@uniwersytetkaliski.edu.pl, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2344-0901
4. Department of Business, Investment, Real Estate, University of Economics – Varna, 77 Kniaz Boris I Blvd., 9002 Varna, Bulgaria, e-mail: i.kostov@ue-varna.bg, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5623-471X
* Corresponding author

Abstract

Persistent housing shortages and escalating housing investment costs in numerous countries drive the search for technologies that enable faster, cost-effective housing development. Prefabrication technology has emerged as a promising solution, which enables buildings to be constructed in significantly shorter timeframes compared to traditional methods. This approach utilizes prefabricated structural elements manufactured in controlled factory settings, leading to a substantial reduction in the carbon footprint associated with the construction process.

This study focuses on two primary objectives: 1) Identifying the key factors for integrating prefabricated construction technology into the multifamily housing market, especially within the framework of sustainable development policies and the growing housing gap, and 2) Examining buyer preferences to assess their openness toward prefabricated construction in the multifamily residential market. Identification of the determinants of the implementation of prefabricated technology was carried out based on comprehensive literature review and critique of source documents. Additionally, buyer preference surveys were conducted among residents in post-communist Central and Eastern European countries (Poland, Bulgaria, and Ukraine).

$220,000 Four Story Four Apartments Prefabricated Modular Housing, Chile

Floor Plans
3D Renderings
Construction Process
About ELEMENTAL Architecture

Project	Chusmisa Housing Wildfire Reconstruction
Architects	ELEMENTAL
Area	252m² (4 apartments of 63m²)
Modules	8 prefabricated living modules and 3 prefabricated roof modules
Manufacturing Time	1 month
Installation Time	1 day (+5 days of finishing)
Project Cost	$220,000
Location	Viña del Mar, Chile
Year	2025

A year after the mega-fire in Viña del Mar and with only 26% progress in the reconstruction work in the area, the ELEMENTAL office and local authorities began the construction of a prefabricated modular housing project in one of the residential neighborhoods most affected by the catastrophe. It is a medium-density residential building with a modular metal structure that aims to serve as a starting point for other similar modular projects, in response to what is now considered one of the most catastrophic events in the recent history of Chile. The objective, declared by both Alejandro Aravena and the mayor of the city, Macarena Ripamonti, is that the technology and management model behind this prefabricated housing project serve as a precedent to deliver rapid and definitive modular housing solutions in emergency scenarios.