According to an independent report commissioned by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors the cheap housing method,whereby homes are built off-site and dropped into place, is once again the future of building.
A report in the Telegraph newspaper says that pre-fabricated houses got a bad name of shoddy design and poor construction after they were churned out by the thousands to solve the post-war housing crisis.
Whilst today's versions (called modular homes) are still low-cost, with prices starting at £20,000, they boast state-of-the-art design and impressive 'green' credentials.
Researchers think that this type of housing could offer a chaep and easy way of tackling the UK's housing "deficit" with 80,000 too few homes built each yearto meet the need for affordable housing.