Investments might pay off someday — Prefab domain

So you’re saying there’s a chance…

In numerous interviews I’ve discussed my investment in domain names related to prefab housing. I’m not talking regarding cheap prefab; instead I’ve gone long on modern prefab housing.

But the housing boom hurt the modern prefab industry pretty hard. Financing a prefab home can prove challenging and alternative financing got hit hard in the mortgage crises.

Another drawback is that prefab housing still generally costs a lot more than site built homes. I’m right now working on building a modern home here in Austin. The challenges of the lot would make it basically impossible to go prefab. But even if I wanted to, it seems most prefab ends up costing $200-$300 a foot. That’s a lot more than a comparable site built house. (The argument for prefab is that it’s higher quality since it’s built in a controlled environment.)

So I’ve questioned if I ought to keep renewing these domains.

But the prior week came news that Portland, Oregon based IdeaBox was creating an Ikea home. It turns out initial news notes that Ikea was creating/selling the home were inaccurate. IdeaBox just worked with Ikea to design the inside to work seamlessly with Ikea products.

It’s not exactly high end pre-fab, either.

Still, I’m hopeful that eventually prefab will take off in the U.S. and I’ll get a return on my investment. I’m just not going to count my chickens ahead of they hatch.

Incidentally, one of the domains I own is PortlandPrefab.com.

Image: Ideabox.us