Luxury modular homes, turnkey

What turnkey means at Aurum Group

A luxury modular home is not a product bought from a brochure: it is a project that must be managed. The difference between a successful outcome and a build that runs into difficulties almost always comes down to how many parties are involved and who is accountable when something does not fit. That is why we work with a single contract and a single person responsible for the entire process.

This scope is agreed in writing before work begins, and in a complete turnkey service it covers:

Typologies we design

Modular construction can accommodate virtually any high-end residential brief. These are the typologies we work with most frequently:

• Luxury modular villa. A large, single or multi-storey home with generous spans, floor-to-ceiling windows and living spaces opening onto the outdoors.
• Exclusive modular chalet. A detached single-family home on its own plot, with a full day and night layout and an integrated garage.
• Single-storey modular home. A stair-free layout that is accessible and easy to maintain, well suited to large plots and long-term use.
• Modular extension. Modules added to an existing home to gain bedrooms, a study, gym or guest area, with minimal works to the original house.
• Housing development. Several modular homes built as part of the same scheme, taking advantage of workshop repetition without sacrificing variation between units.

None of these forms part of a closed catalogue: in every case, a unique home is designed for a specific plot. You can view the materials, systems and finish levels we work with in the catalogue and specifications document.

Specification befitting the luxury segment

Workshop manufacturing is the best guarantee of a well-executed building envelope: continuous insulation and airtightness — the two factors that most affect a home's actual energy consumption — are installed and verified to a precision that is difficult to achieve on site. On this foundation, the specification typical of our projects includes:

The choice between steel frame and SIP panels is a technical decision, not a commercial one: it depends on the geometry of the project and the spans to be covered, the climate zone, the accessibility of the plot and the acoustic and fire-resistance requirements. That analysis forms part of the project. We explain it in detail in the complete guide to luxury modular homes.

Energy efficiency and certification

Any newly built home in Spain must comply with the Código Técnico de la Edificación (Spanish Technical Building Code) in its basic energy-saving document and must be handed over with its energy performance certificate, the same one that later accompanies the title deed and any letting or sale. In the luxury segment, that requirement falls short as an objective: what matters is the actual energy consumption of the finished home, and that is where factory manufacturing makes the difference.

The reason is simple. The consumption of a well-designed home is determined by three factors — continuous insulation, the absence of thermal bridges and airtightness — and all three are executed better under cover, with the envelope assembled on a workbench, than outdoors and by different trades. On that basis, we work with:

• High-performance envelope. Continuous insulation on the façade, roof and floor, with junctions resolved at the design stage to eliminate thermal bridges rather than correct them afterwards.
• Verified, not assumed, airtightness. Air tightness can be verified with a pressurisation test — blower door — before the finishes are closed, which is the only moment when a leak can still be sealed without breaking anything.
• Demand first, then equipment. What the home needs is reduced first — orientation, solar shading, triple-glazed windows — and only then are the aerothermal system and heat-recovery ventilation sized. Doing it the other way round makes the installation more expensive without lowering the bill.
• Own generation. Photovoltaic self-consumption, with optional storage, to cover part of the remaining demand.
• The target, in writing. The performance level being pursued — up to approaching a nearly zero-energy building — is agreed at the preliminary design stage, as it determines thicknesses, window systems and installations, and therefore the budget. What is not set at the outset becomes an extra at the end.

Industrialised construction also has an environmental advantage that appears on no certificate: the factory works with fixed measurements and sorted offcuts, so it generates considerably less waste than an equivalent project built entirely on site, and it reduces the months of machinery, noise and traffic in the surrounding area. In an established residential area, that is appreciated by the neighbourhood and, sometimes, by the local council too. The detail of how each requirement is met is set out in the complete guide to luxury modular homes.

The process, step by step

• 1. Initial consultation. We review your plot and your requirements. Free of charge and with no obligation.
• 2. Planning feasibility. We check what the local planning regulations allow before drawing anything. This is the verification that avoids the most unpleasant surprises.
• 3. Preliminary design and proposal. Initial floor plans and massing, with scope, itemised budget and schedule.
• 4. Detailed design (execution project). Full definition of architecture, structure, services and finishes, including the module breakdown.
• 5. Permitting and manufacturing in parallel. While the local council processes the permit and the plot foundations are laid, the modules are already being manufactured.
• 6. Assembly, finishing and handover. Assembly onto the foundations, final connections, testing, interior design and handover of the keys.

Modular versus traditional construction

Those who have got this far are not usually choosing between two module manufacturers: they are deciding whether building their home in a factory makes sense. The honest comparison is not that one method is better, but that both methods fail at different points.

Modular, prefabricated or industrialised

All three words are used as synonyms, and anyone searching for luxury prefabricated houses, industrialised housing or luxury modular housing is usually looking for the same thing: a house whose main part is manufactured in a workshop and then assembled on the plot. However, they do not describe exactly the same thing, and the difference matters when comparing offers.

• The plot. Slope, ground type, access for special transport and crane, and distance to utility connections. This is the variable that most affects a budget, and the only one that cannot be estimated without seeing it.
• The floor area and number of storeys. Cost does not increase in a straight line with square metres: a second storey requires the structure, staircase and means of escape to be reviewed.
• The construction system. Steel frame and SIP panels solve different problems; the choice responds to the project, the plot and the climate, not to price.

What turns any of these into a luxury home is not the word used, but the project itself: bespoke architecture for the plot, integrated interior design, a building envelope that genuinely performs, and top-tier finishes. For legal, licensing, mortgage and warranty purposes, a modular home anchored to foundations is a home like any other, as detailed below.

What determines the price

This is the first question in almost every enquiry, and the one that is worst answered online, because any figure quoted in isolation is misleading. In the luxury segment there is no price per square metre that applies to every case: the same floor area can vary completely in cost depending on the structural system, the level of finish and, above all, on what the plot requires. That is why the budget is set on the specific project, not on a catalogue.

These are the variables that genuinely determine the final figure for a luxury modular home:

• The plot. Slope, ground type, access for special transport and crane, and distance to utility connections. This is the variable that most affects a budget, and the only one that cannot be estimated without seeing it.
• The floor area and number of storeys. Cost does not increase in a straight line with square metres: a second storey requires the structure, staircase and means of escape to be reviewed.
• The construction system. Steel frame and SIP panels solve different problems; the choice responds to the project, the plot and the climate, not to price.
• The level of finish and interior design. This is by far the widest margin: joinery, flooring, bathrooms, kitchen, bespoke furniture and home automation.
• Building services and efficiency. Air-source heat pumps, heat-recovery ventilation and photovoltaics increase the initial investment and reduce running costs throughout the life of the home.
• What lies outside the module. Permits, geotechnical survey, foundations, utility connections and plot groundworks. These are part of the home, not extras.

If you would like to see the detail of each item before requesting a proposal, we have covered this in the luxury modular homes guide.

Where we build

We work from Spain for clients throughout Europe, and we provide service in eight languages —Spanish, English, French, German, Russian, Polish, Dutch and Albanian—, with the project documentation in the client's own language.

Markets served: Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Poland, Russia and Albania. Each country has its own technical guide to permits, building codes and climate, linked from its name.

In Spain we build throughout the entire country, including the islands (what changes when building here is explained in luxury modular home in Spain). The home is designed and manufactured in the same way anywhere in the country: what changes from one area to another is the local council procedures, the climate requirements of the Código Técnico (Spanish Technical Building Code) and the site access conditions. This is precisely what is checked during the feasibility phase, before any designs are drawn up:

• Andalusia and the Costa del Sol. Málaga, Marbella, Estepona, Sotogrande and the rest of the coastline, where the coastal protection easement over the maritime-terrestrial public domain determines where the home can be sited.
• Community of Madrid. Low-density plots in the metropolitan belt, with municipal by-laws setting site coverage, setbacks and height with very little leeway.
• Valencian Community and Murcia. Costa Blanca, Valencia and Mar Menor, with many sloping plots and narrow access roads that must be checked before arranging special transport and crane access.
• Catalonia and the Costa Brava. Barcelona, the Baix Empordà and the Girona coastline, where landscape protection measures are common and affect volume and materials.
• Balearic and Canary Islands. Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca and the Canary Islands, where sea transport of the modules is factored into the schedule from day one.
• Atlantic north. Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia, with weatherproofing and damp-protection requirements more demanding than in the south.
• Navarre, La Rioja, Aragón, the two Castiles and Extremadura. Continental climate and, in mountain areas, snow loads and thermal swings that are addressed in the design of the building envelope.

If you are also considering buying a luxury property in Spain from abroad, we have prepared market-specific guides covering the legal process, taxes and financing for non-residents.

Guarantees, regulations and financing

This is worth clarifying from the outset, as it is the doubt that most weighs on the decision: a modular home anchored to a permanent foundation is a home like any other in every legal, tax and land registry respect. It is neither a demountable installation nor a prefabricated house for temporary use, and there is no separate modular regulation: it is designed, processed, inspected and delivered under the same rules as any conventional new build.

• Council planning permission, not a special category. Building permission from the local council based on an approved project, subject to the same requirements on buildability, site coverage, setbacks and height that apply to any home on that plot.
• Guarantees under the Ley de Ordenación de la Edificación (Spanish Building Regulation Act). The periods the law sets for any new build: one year for finishing defects, three for those affecting habitability, and ten for those affecting the structure.
• Building insurance. Those required by law for property development, including ten-year insurance against structural damage. The law separately covers the case of a self-developer building a single-family home for their own use, so on each project the applicable category is confirmed and set out in writing.
• Handover documentation. Certificate of completion, first occupancy licence, energy performance certificate and building log book, together with the warranties from the manufacturers of installations and equipment.
• Title deed and Land Registry. A declaration of new build before a notary and registration with the Land Registry, exactly as with a home built piece by piece on the plot.
• Mortgage under normal conditions. As a registered property, the home can be financed like any other. When the client owns the plot, the usual route is a self-development mortgage, with drawdowns released against certified stages of work; the bank requires an approved project, planning permission, an itemised budget and a schedule, which is exactly the documentation provided at the preliminary design stage.

The objection regarding valuation falls away for the same reason: the valuer assesses a single-family home on urban land, not an industrial product. What is worth anticipating with the bank is the payment schedule, since workshop manufacturing brings forward outlays that, in traditional construction, would only be due later. This alignment between the construction schedule and the financing schedule is addressed in the proposal, before anything is signed.

Why Aurum Group

• A single point of contact. One contract and one person responsible from the plot's feasibility through to handover, with no passing of blame between trades.
• In-house architecture. An original design for each plot, not the adaptation of a catalogue model.
• Integrated interior design. Developed within the project itself, not afterwards, so that joinery, furniture and fittings arrive coordinated from the workshop.
• Itemised budget. Broken down line by line, with exclusions stated in writing, so that the final price resembles the initial one.
• A European outlook. Experience with non-resident buyers and with the documentation required by each market.

Current project: modular home in Pinoso (Alicante)

Our most recent project is a single-storey modular detached house in Pinoso, in inland Alicante province. Handover of the keys is scheduled for 20 November 2026, and it is a good example of the short timeframe made possible by factory manufacturing whilst the plot is being prepared.

Frequently asked questions