Is it because you are really mostly paying for the land?
But still, building a house still runs at $100,000+. Why though.
Are any of the pre-fab companies taking off?
I want to buy a run-down house, tear it down, and build pre-fab on it for $20,000, damn it.
Sorry, off-topic, but it seems like such an opportunity area for someone with some capital.
At least, that's my very-limited POV.
They're competing with you buying a pre-built house. There's no need to charge that little, in addition people will often pay more to have their own house built, and new carries a premium. So there's no pressure pushing them to make houses low cost. Buy the land, hire a builder .. they'll still charge you too much because your alternative is still to have a pre-built house.
Rent-seeking ftw.
Edit: Also totally unrelated, but I have always wanted to know what the raw cost for a basement/foundation usually is.
Basically the first sentence of the first section defines it:
"Das Entsendegesetz verpflichtet ausländische Arbeitgeber zur Einhaltung von minimalen Lohn- und Arbeitsbedingungen gemäss den anwendbaren schweizerischen Vorschriften."
Google translate gives this:
"The Posting Act requires foreign employers to comply with minimum wage and working conditions in accordance with the applicable Swiss regulations."