Lifespan of prefabricated houses experiences

Hello everyone,

I would like to better understand what is meant by lifespan. While researching, I came across rules of thumb like "Modern prefab houses have a lifespan of up to 90 years, prefab houses from the 1970s have 50 years".

Now I find real estate offers for prefab houses from the 1970s that are around €500-600k. The standard land value in the municipality where I am searching was about €210 in 2021, with a 500 sqm plot we are at €105k, which means the seller still wants €400-500k for a house whose maximum lifespan is reached/exceeded. But I can get a new prefab house for that price?!

This raises the question for me: What exactly does lifespan mean? Am I at risk that a 1970s prefab house will collapse in a few years? Or does it mean that renovation is no longer economical?

The lifespan is basically the time during which the property can be economically used. Through maintenance, modernization, or even renovation, the lifespan can be several hundred years = just go to a beautiful "Alt" town. There are houses from 1435 – they are in great condition and still standing (but you also have to invest).

Am I at risk that a prefab house from the 1970s will collapse in a few years?

So the clear answer is "No." But the 70s house (whether prefab or not) without renovation is no longer up to date. Investments must be made to extend the "lifespan" again.

This raises the question for me: What exactly does the expected lifespan mean? Am I at risk that a prefab house from the 1970s will collapse in a few years? Or does it mean that a renovation is no longer economical?

Neither.

In most cases, this probably refers to the remaining useful life. A house has a statistical remaining useful life. If nothing is done, it expires after a few decades. Then the house is worth nothing in terms of valuation. But it can still be in perfectly good condition. However, the technology and sanitary facilities are then outdated.

Nevertheless, you can charge rent for it and use the house economically. I own a hall that was built in 1956. Its remaining useful life expired a long time ago, nothing has been renovated, only everything is maintained. Still, I receive rent for the hall. And since the bank looks at the income value here and not at the asset value, I can also use it as collateral.

We currently still live in a prefabricated house from 1977/78. We are tearing it down this year because a major change to the structure is simply not possible. It starts with the foundation/stability and ends with the room layout. In between are: undersized electrical systems, asbestos/toxic substances as far as the eye can see, odor formation (please search online for "prefabricated house smell 70s"), etc. This certainly does not necessarily apply to all prefabricated houses. But other owners have also reported that, for example, an extensive renovation never completely eliminated the odor. Since, in our case, the stability is the biggest (unsolvable) problem, we are tearing it down. It lacks 1-2 rooms for which we would have to add an extension. For a single couple, however, something would definitely still be doable here with €300,000. The new building costs us double that, by the way. *Edit: The chimney was once at risk of collapsing and had to be subsequently supported.

I would like to better understand what is meant by lifespan. While researching, I came across rules of thumb like "Modern prefabricated houses have a lifespan of up to 90 years, prefabricated houses from the 1970s have 50 years." [...] Am I at risk that a 1970s prefabricated house will collapse in a few years?

Unfortunately not ;-) A prefabricated house from 1970 may be outdated in many respects, but it will not do you the favor of collapsing on its own. You can regularly expect to be dissatisfied with its standard and want to fundamentally renovate it. It is at most unsmart and regularly has insulation between the intermediate beams that has already sagged in on itself. In combination with the fact that you will also want to replace the windows, you will go for a complete overhaul. Technically, prefabricated houses in the sixties were still as barrack-like as their image suggested, which improved very slowly at first. From around 1980, prefabricated houses became really good, at the time far ahead of solid houses in terms of efficiency, and in the early to mid-nineties they also became a strong driver of innovation for the fashionable architectural quality of the entire catalog house market. If you are looking for a "prefab" house in the popular sense (i.e., a wood frame panel house) (and do not intend / are not willing to strip it from the inside), then look for construction years from 1980 onwards (old federal states, or Neckermann & the like were also available in the former GDR). However, most providers from back then have since been sold or merged. From the early 80s, I remember ExNorm as a manufacturer that explicitly focused on the topic of building biology.

Thanks in advance for the answers.

I understand that a house does not meet the requirements for floor plan, insulation, sanitary facilities, etc. after 50 years.

What surprises me is why the lifespan of solid houses is given as 120-150 years, but for prefabricated houses only a maximum of 90 years.
The floor plan of today will not be up-to-date in 50 years, whether it is a prefabricated house or made of stone.

That is why my question arises as to what the lifespan actually indicates.