Hamburg  - Packing boxes will always be necessary when moving house, but there may come a time when the need to refurnish and redecorate with every move is a thing of the past.

Mobile prefabricated homes that move with their owner are seen by some as an architectural concept with potential. And these moveable structures already are available today.

Flexibility and mobility increasingly are big issues for people looking to invest in a home. Christoph Windscheif of the association of prefabricated homes in Bad Honnef, Germany, speaks of an "ambitious vision of the future" as a factor.

"There certainly are people who can imagine that type of modern nomadic life," said Windscheif.

"It's a proposition that's meant to accommodate the achievement- oriented society," said Birgit Gebhardt of Trendbuero, a consultancy for social change in Hamburg.

Setting up house is a long-term proposition. But that doesn't always mesh well with modern living, where decisions need to be made quickly. "You don't know if and how long you're going to stay in one location and how the structure of the family might change," said Gebhardt. Mobile homes are a compromise.

"It's saying, 'House, yes, but with flexibility, please.'" Unlike the United States, where the concept of entire homes being hauled around by large transport trucks is not foreign, Europe has a clearly smaller market for prefabricated or mobile homes.

Among the companies in the forefront of prefabricated mobile homes in Europe is Smarthouse in Buende, Germany. The company offers six modular varieties.

"We deliver the house in ready-for-use condition and position it using a crane on the lot," said Kai Dunker, developer of the Smarthouse concept. Work begins in the morning and by afternoon, the house is ready for occupancy.

This step takes place, however, only after the owner builds a foundation on the lot and connects it to water and electricity lines. Mobile homes rest on a comparatively low-priced strip foundation.

"The floor of the modules is so well insulated that a floor slab is unnecessary," said Bettina Walten of Griffner Haus in Austria, which in 2009 will introduce a mobile home onto the market.

"When it's time to move, the owner calls the manufacturer of the house, who takes it apart and sets it up at the new location," said Walten.

Whether the design is a Griffner, Smarthouse or Loftcube by Berlin designer Werner Aisslinger, they all have generally the same linear, no-frills look. The homes are designed mainly to appeal to young people, but Dunker said in his experience older people are also interested in the new concept. Nonetheless, few experts expect mobile homes to be norms within a few years.

"That contradicts the mentality of Germans," said Windscheif. The motto "my home is my castle" is still paramount in home ownership in Germany. As a rule, buying a house goes hand-in-hand with starting a family and the need to settle down. "And people who want to remain mobile rent an apartment." (dpa)