Housing markets in Canada and the United States are experiencing a gap in supply and affordability such that, for many residents, finding the right home that fits their budgets is becoming increasingly difficult. In Canada alone, the national housing agency (CMHC) estimates that 3.5 million additional housing units will be needed by 2030 to restore affordability. To meet growing demand, governments and developers are turning to modular and prefab construction, that promise to deliver housing in a way that is more efficient and economically feasible.
Modular and offsite construction continue to emerge as scalable solutions in comparison to traditional building methods that may struggle to match the same pace. By leveraging digital design tools like Revit framing software for wood and light gauge steel construction, the industry is discovering new ways to accelerate housing delivery while maintaining quality and precision.
What is Modular or Prefab Construction?
Modular and prefab (or prefabricated) construction both fall under the umbrella of Offsite Construction. In this method, homes are partially or fully constructed in a factory setting before being transported to the final job-site for assembly.
This approach can take the form of modular construction, where entire units (or modules) such as rooms or sections of a building, are built in the factory. Or prefab construction, which consists of panelized systems, where walls, floors, ceilings are manufactured separately and assembled at the location.
Both methods can be used to build multifamily residential housing at scale. Unlike traditional on-site construction which can be slowed by weather, labor shortages and logistical delays, prefab and modular methods leverage factory production to deliver homes at a faster and more efficient pace.
While site preparation such as foundations and landscaping is underway, the structural components or framing, are being manufactured in the factory with the help of specialized machinery. This overlap by itself cuts total construction time by 30-50%, enabling builders to deliver housing faster. BIM and digital design are crucial parts of this conversation, with most builders relying on Autodesk Revit and Revit framing software to ensure the entire process is digitally connected and streamlined.
Can Modular and Prefab Construction Make Housing More Affordable?
Modular or prefab homes can prove to be more cost-effective than their traditionally built counterparts. A study by the Modular Building Institute found that multifamily modular homes cost $243 per sq. ft., compared to site-built homes at $251 per sq. ft.
The study was conducted on multifamily buildings averaging 6 stories and 144 units, i.e. the size of a mid-rise apartment building. Multifamily housing typically refers to a single building or complex that contains multiple separate housing units, where more than one family or household lives independently within the same structure.
At face value, a 3.2% cost reduction may appear rather modest, but we are not just talking about one project, but numerous government funded initiatives across the United States and Canada. Over time, these savings can accumulate, reducing the costs for developers, governments and ultimately taxpayers by millions of dollars.
But the advantages of modular and prefab construction go far beyond affordability. These methods shorten project timelines without compromising quality, deliver consistent, predictable results, and enable construction at a scale difficult to achieve with traditional site-built methods. By combining speed, efficiency, and reliability, modular construction not only helps manage costs but also provides a practical solution for addressing housing shortages and expanding access to safe, high-quality homes.
Revit Framing Software: Enabling Precision in Offsite Wood and Metal Construction
Precision is at the heart of every successful modular or prefab construction project. When building components are manufactured offsite, even minor design errors can result in costly delays or rework.
This is why more modular builders are turning to Revit framing software to bridge the gap between design, engineering, and manufacturing. The software enhances Revit’s built-in toolset to automate and standardize the framing process for both wood and cold formed steel structures. This enables designers to ensure that the structural or non-structural framing components such as walls, floors, trusses and sheathing are modeled accurately, and the data is carried over to the manufacturing teams.
Once framing is complete, the ONYX plugin can generate CNC-ready output, translating Revit data directly into machine instructions for fabrication. This seamless design-to-manufacturing workflow minimizes waste, maximizes material efficiency, and ensures each panel or module fits perfectly when assembled onsite.
For modular construction teams working with tight budgets and schedules, this level of integration is transformative. Revit-based framing tools not only increase speed and accuracy but also enable better collaboration between architects, engineers, and fabricators.
Will America Embrace the Move to Modular?
The modular construction industry is showing a clear growth trend. Share of new construction starts in North America using modular methods rose from roughly 2.1% in 2015 to about 6.6% in 2023, equivalent to around US $14.6 billion in project value.
As the prefab and modular construction industry continues to gain momentum, digital framing software is emerging as a key enabler of that growth. By empowering design and manufacturing teams to collaborate seamlessly within Revit-based BIM environments, builders can reduce material waste, shorten production cycles, and deliver high-quality housing faster than ever before.
With solutions like Strucsoft’s and ONYX, modular fabricators are already realizing the benefits of automation—from streamlined design-to-fabrication workflows to improved accuracy in wood and light gauge steel framing. The rapid expansion of the prefab sector across North America shows that technology-driven construction isn’t just the future—it’s happening now. The question is how quickly the rest of the industry will embrace it to help solve the housing shortage at scale.
Discover Strucsoft’s offsite framing software for prefab and modular construction in Revit
