Last updated: August 2026
Search for the price of a modular home and you can find one advertised for €50,000 and another for €250,000. Both prices might be genuine. They may simply describe completely different products. One could be a structural shell. Another could include windows, heating, bathrooms, kitchen, flooring, delivery and installation. That is why the first question should never be: “What does a modular home cost per square metre?” It should be: “What exactly am I getting for the money?”
There is no honest single European €/m² price
Construction costs vary enormously across Europe. Labour, transport, taxation, local regulation, ground conditions and building standards all affect the final project cost. Even the direction of construction-cost inflation differs significantly between countries. Eurostat reported that prices for constructing new residential buildings across the EU increased by 48.2% between 2015 and 2025, with much larger increases in some markets than others. So a price from Ireland cannot simply be applied to Latvia, Germany, Sweden or France. TheHouz takes the same approach with every destination: configure the home first, then price it for the market and site where it will actually be built.
The biggest pricing trap: shell versus completed home
This is where many online comparisons fall apart.
Shell – A shell might include some combination of:
structure · walls · roof · windows · external doors
It may look like a finished house from outside. Inside, there can still be a great deal left to build.
Completed home – A much more complete specification may include:
heating · ventilation · plumbing · electrics · bathrooms · kitchen · flooring · decoration · lighting · controls · delivery · installation
These are fundamentally different propositions. If a €70,000 shell needs another €70,000 of work before somebody can live in it, it is not really competing with a €130,000 completed home.
Compare completion level before comparing price.
Start with the specification, not the headline
Two homes with exactly the same floor area can have very different costs.
Why?
Because square metres do not tell you whether the home contains:
- PVC or aluminium windows;
- standard glazing or large panoramic glazing;
- fibre-cement or premium architectural cladding;
- direct-electric heating or an air-to-water heat pump;
- local ventilation or central MVHR;
- Solar Ready provision or full PV and battery storage;
- basic electrical controls or integrated smart-home systems;
- one bathroom or several;
- standard or upgraded kitchen;
- furniture and appliance packages.
The floor area is only one cost driver.
Specification matters just as much.
How TheHouz prices a home
TheHouz is designed around configuration rather than one generic price list.
You begin with one of the three home families:
R Family™
L Family™
Combo Family™
The platform ranges from compact homes beginning at approximately 32.9 m² through to larger family configurations reaching 156.5 m². You then configure the elements that actually make the home yours. Depending on the model and market, that can include:
façade · glazing · climate system · ventilation · solar · battery · smart home · security · interiors · kitchen · bathrooms · appliances · furniture
As you make selections in TheHouz Studio, you can compare options, change specifications and understand how those decisions affect the home and its price.
That is very different from receiving one unexplained number at the end.
We name what goes into the home
“Premium windows.”
“Quality heat pump.”
“Designer bathroom.”
Those are marketing descriptions, not specifications.
TheHouz project offers identify the principal systems and selected products going into the home.
Where applicable, that means the actual:
manufacturer · product family · system · specification
Why does that matter?
Because if two companies quote €150,000 but one includes a high-performance heat pump, central MVHR, better windows and a higher-grade façade, those quotations are not equal.
You should be able to understand what you are paying for.
The home price is not always the project price
This distinction is critical. TheHouz can define the cost of the home and agreed delivery scope.
Your site introduces another set of variables. Depending on the project, separate costs can include:
Foundations and groundworks
The foundation depends on actual ground conditions, levels and engineering.
Utilities
Electricity, water, drainage and telecommunications have to reach the home.
Ten metres of connection is very different from 150 metres.
Wastewater
Where there is no public sewer, an approved on-site treatment solution may be required.
Access and lifting
Delivery distance, site access and lifting requirements are project-specific.
TheHouz’s panelised construction helps with transport and constrained access, but logistics still need to be assessed.
Professional and statutory costs
Planning, architects, engineers, energy assessments, certification and other professional requirements depend on the country and project.
External works
Driveways, paths, landscaping, retaining walls, external drainage and similar works are normally separate unless specifically included.
This is why TheHouz assesses the home and the site as related but separate parts of the budget.
Do not use a generic “add 30%” rule
You will often see advice online telling buyers to add 20%, 30% or some other fixed percentage to the house price for site costs. That can be misleading. A flat serviced site with excellent access may have relatively straightforward site costs. A sloping rural property with difficult access, long utility runs and private wastewater treatment is a completely different project.
We prefer to identify the real cost headings rather than hide uncertainty inside an arbitrary percentage. The ground does not know what percentage of your house price it is supposed to cost.
VAT and taxes: price for the destination country
Tax treatment also varies across Europe. The applicable VAT can depend on the country, contract structure, whether the transaction is a supply of goods or construction service, and exactly what is included. For example, Ireland currently has a 13.5% reduced VAT rate, which applies to certain building and construction services, but the correct treatment of a specific home contract needs to follow the applicable tax rules and transaction structure. (revenue.ie)
That is why TheHouz quotations clearly state:
price before VAT · applicable VAT treatment · total price
for the destination market.
Do not compare one supplier’s VAT-inclusive price with another supplier’s VAT-exclusive advertisement.
It sounds obvious. It happens constantly.
Cost certainty: where factory production helps
Factory production does not make every project cost fixed forever. The site remains site-specific. But it allows much more of the home itself to be defined before manufacturing begins.
The TheHouz process is:
configure → review → specify → price → freeze → procure → manufacture
Once the agreed specification is frozen, materials and production can be planned around a defined home. That reduces one of the classic sources of construction cost drift:
making expensive decisions after construction has already started.
Changes are cheapest in the configurator
Want different cladding?
Try it.
Change the windows.
Compare heating systems.
Add solar.
Remove the battery.
Upgrade the kitchen.
This is exactly what the configurator is for.
The best time to change a home is while it is still digital. Once engineering has been released, materials ordered or production started, a change can affect both cost and programme. TheHouz therefore deliberately front-loads customer decisions.
More choice before production. More certainty during production.
Cheap to buy and good value are not the same thing
We do not believe the objective should be to produce the lowest possible advertised €/m² number. A permanent home is a long-term asset. The purchase decision should also consider:
energy performance · durability · maintenance · warranty · aftercare · documentation · serviceability
TheHouz uses a protected galvanised steel structural system, high-performance insulated envelope and serviceable building systems designed for long-term ownership. Every TheHouz home is also supported by a 10-year building guarantee, subject to the applicable terms, together with 2 years of TheHouz Care maintenance included. The initial Care period provides scheduled preventative maintenance and technical support, with extended maintenance plans available afterwards. Those things have a cost. They also have value.
What does TheHouz Care mean for the cost comparison?
Suppose two homes have similar purchase prices. One supplier hands over the keys and leaves future maintenance entirely to the homeowner. The other includes structured servicing of applicable systems such as:
MVHR and filters · heating and heat pump · electrical installation · distribution board · smart-home technology · security · controls · windows and doors · overall home functionality
Those are not identical ownership propositions. When comparing homes, look beyond: “How much today?” and ask: “What am I buying for the next ten years?”
How to compare two quotations properly
Put the quotations next to each other and check the same headings.
- Completion level
Shell, partially finished or completed home? - Structure and envelope
What structural system, insulation and façade are included? - Windows and glazing
What manufacturer, system and glazing specification? - Climate systems
Heating, ventilation and optional cooling — what exactly is included? - Interiors
Kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, painting, doors and lighting. - Energy and technology
Solar, battery, EV readiness, smart-home and security systems. - Delivery and installation
Exactly what does the supplier do on site? - Site exclusions
Foundations, drainage, utilities, access and external works. - VAT
Included or excluded? At what applicable rate? - Warranty and aftercare
What happens after you receive the keys?
Only once these ten headings are aligned does the final number start becoming meaningful.
Is TheHouz cheaper than traditional construction?
Sometimes.
But we would not choose TheHouz simply because somebody tells you MMC must always be cheaper. Depending on the country, site and specification, a high-quality panelised home might cost less, roughly the same, or in some cases more than a particular traditional-build quotation. Our argument is broader. TheHouz is designed to provide:
- clearer specification
- controlled factory manufacture
- parallel project delivery
- reduced site activity
- durable materials
- high energy performance
- project-specific programme
- 10-year building guarantee
- structured maintenance and aftercare
The question is not simply:
“Which building has the lowest starting price?”
It is:
“Which project gives me the best combination of cost, certainty, performance and long-term ownership?”
How do I get a real TheHouz price?
Start in TheHouz Studio.
Choose your:
home family → size → specification → finishes → energy systems → technology
You can change selections and compare options until the home is where you want it.
Then submit the configuration to TheHouz. Our team reviews the configuration together with the destination and available site information and develops the project offer.
For the most useful review, provide:
- country and site location;
- selected configuration;
- site photos;
- access information;
- and any known planning or utility information.
The result is considerably more useful than asking:
“How much is a modular home?”
It is a price for your home, on your project, in your market.
Frequently asked questions
What does a panelised home cost per square metre?
There is no reliable universal number.
The result depends on size, specification, completion level, destination market and what is included in the quotation.
€/m² can be useful only after the specifications being compared have been aligned.
Why are online modular-home prices so different?
Usually because the products and scopes are different.
A shell, kit, cabin, volumetric module and completed permanent panelised home can all be advertised under similar terminology while including completely different amounts of work.
Is TheHouz a fixed-price home?
The agreed home package can achieve a high level of price definition once the specification and scope are frozen. Site-specific costs and customer changes remain separate variables. Every quotation should clearly identify what is included and excluded.
Are foundations included?
Foundations and groundworks are normally site-specific and arranged separately unless expressly included within the project offer. TheHouz provides the required building loads and foundation-interface information for coordination with the site-specific design.
Does the price include delivery and installation?
Delivery and installation are defined according to the project destination, selected home and agreed scope. They should be clearly identified within the project offer rather than assumed from a generic website price.
Does the price include VAT?
The project offer should identify the applicable tax treatment for the destination and agreed scope. VAT systems vary across Europe, so customers should never assume that an advertised price includes the same tax treatment in every market.
Is a larger TheHouz always more expensive per square metre?
Not necessarily on a proportional basis.
Some costs — plant, transport, technical work, bathrooms, kitchens and equipment — do not scale perfectly with floor area.
This is another reason a simple €/m² calculation can be misleading.
Is the cheapest heating specification always the best value?
No.
Initial equipment cost should be considered alongside home size, energy demand, electricity tariffs, efficiency, maintenance and expected ownership period.
For some compact homes, a simpler electric system may make sense. For larger homes, a heat-pump solution may offer a better overall balance.
What warranty is included?
Every TheHouz home is supported by a 10-year building guarantee, subject to the applicable terms and scope. Individual equipment and products can have their own manufacturer warranties.
Is maintenance included?
Yes.
The initial 2-year TheHouz Care maintenance subscription is included, providing planned servicing and technical support for applicable home systems.
Extended 2-year and 3-year maintenance plans are available afterwards.
The principle is simple
Do not compare advertisements.
Compare homes.
Compare what is built.
Compare what is included.
Compare the products and systems.
Compare the energy performance.
Compare the site scope.
Compare the warranty.
Compare what happens after handover.
Then compare the price.
TheHouz Studio is designed to make those choices visible before you commit — because the best project cost is not simply the lowest number. It is the number you understand.