Low-cost prefab homes: bargain or junk?

Low-cost prefab homes: bargain or junk?

Imagine buying a home for the price of a second-hand car. For €5,000, some claim, you can already get a prefab house bought on Aliexpress, payable even in instalments via PayPal. The offer sounds tempting in a runaway property market, but it raises more suspicion than certainty.

A price that defies logic

The prices mentioned hover around €1,050 if you go for a "palillero" (a craftsman) and between €2,000 and €3,000 for the buyer's share, adding up to roughly €5,000 in total. Any comparison with the average price per square metre in Spain — which exceeds €1,500 — makes it clear these figures are unrealistic for a conventional home. The question is whether what is on offer is a house or a temporary structure.

The shadow of substandard housing

Some analysts (who took a more extreme line in the debate) warned of the risk of a rise in informal settlements if these constructions proliferate unchecked. Although the tone was overblown, the underlying issue points to a real problem: the lack of regulation on ultra-cheap prefab homes can produce substandard housing.

Financing within anyone's reach

The fact that it can be paid via PayPal in three instalments is no minor detail: it democratizes access to a product that, at this price, would hardly be financed by a bank. But it also removes the creditworthiness filter, increasing the risk of impulse purchases.

The eye-catching figure: with this offer, anyone could have a "home of their own" for less than a monthly salary. Yet the low-cost prefab market remains marginal. The reasons: actual quality, municipal permits and social stigma. Until that changes, the bargain remains a mirage.