How an American Aerospace Engineer-Turned-Diplomat Founded a Modular Housing Business Here in the Philippines

Hive Modular is a startup that designs and creates modular homes for private and institutional clients. Its headquarters is in Bonifacio Global City although its manufacturing facility is located in a warehouse in Silang, Cavite. The startup was founded by John Avrett, an American aerospace engineer who previously worked in the economic section of the Embassy of the United States in the Philippines.

Avrett and his partners’ decision to set up Hive Modular reflects the growing market and enormous potential for the global prefabricated and modular homes industry, particularly in the Asia Pacific. Data from Research and Markets say the industry grew from $142.99 billion in 2025 to $153.79 billion in 2026 with a compound annual growth rate of about 7.6 percent. Driven by the rising demand for affordable housing, adoption of modular construction, and growth in energy-efficient homes, the market is projected to grow even further to $203.49 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 7.3 percent, fueled by the integration of IoT monitoring, eco-friendly materials, and smart home features.

In the Philippines, the prefabricated construction market is estimated at $16.04 billion in 2026, and is expected to reach $27.11 billion by 2031, at a CAGR of 11.07 percent, according to a report by Mordor Intelligence. Factors like a $44.5 billion public-private-partnership pipeline, a 6.94 million-unit housing shortfall, and a disaster-response framework that pre-qualifies modular suppliers are combining to intensify demand for these ready-made housing solutions, the report adds.

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During a visit to the Hive Modular facility in Silang, Avrett explained the thinking behind setting up shop in the Philippines, noting primarily how easily Filipino workers pick up and learn design and construction processes.

“That’s one,” he says. “A second reason is English (proficiency). For what we do, there's a tremendous design component, and oftentimes, things get lost in translation when you're talking about design, things you know across cultures and languages, and so that English speaking workforce is really important for us. I'd say those are kind of the two key main factors.

“A third one, which is sort of dominant on the industrial base in the Philippines, is that what we do isn't super energy intensive. We don't have big machines that are operating around the clock. Electricity is expensive here, and it's kind of a barrier to growth in other sectors of the industrial economy, but for us, we don't use a lot of energy power, and so it's kind of well suited for the Philippines.”

According to Avrett, the company started fundraising in 2023, sharing that they went 10 months at a time when no one was really raising money.

“It was possibly the worst time ever to quit your job and start a startup,” he grins. “It was incredibly difficult, but when I was sort of at the end of my own financial runway, we started actually closing some deals. And so our pre-seed raise in 2024, we raised just under P 1 million. We subsequently raised an additional round of approximately another million, and we expect to raise a Series A later this year. We have to demonstrate some things as a company, and we have to achieve some milestones. So that's what I'm really focused on.”

Hive Modular currently has two pre-designed models. The flagship one is what they call Casita X, which has an interior floor space of 45 square meters and an outdoor deck measuring an additional 15 square meters, for a total of 60 meters. It includes a queen bedroom, full bathroom, kitchen with primary fixtures installed, and provisions for air conditioning. The cost for this unit is P7.5 million.

Casita M, meanwhile, is a more developer-focused home with the same dimensions and features but with “simpler, more economical” finishes. Avrett says this model is “optimized for repeatability and prioritizes cost-efficiency and rapid deployment for volume projects.” The cost for this unit is P5 million.

Hive Modular’s edge versus competitors, according to its founder, is its focus on speed, quality, and sustainability.  

“We're very fast in terms of our ability to deliver projects, even compared to other modular builders,” he said. “We're the only volumetric modular construction company in the Philippines. There are other modular companies do a different methodology, where they're maybe importing panels or kits. Those kits still have to be installed on site. We're doing 90 to 95 percent of the work here in our factory, and so we're able to just do it much faster and in a controlled environment. So speed is a big one.

“Quality, not only because of our ability to control everything here, but in terms of our team. We have a team of experts delivering projects in top-tier markets around the world, and that translates to a really high-quality product.”

As for sustainability, Avrett said the company is working towards being EDGE certified, which is essentially a program that enables developers and builders to quickly identify the most cost-effective strategies to reduce energy use, water use and embodied carbon in materials.

“That's kind of our near-term priority, to get EDGE-certified. But internally, I think our benchmarks for sustainability are about working with suppliers…who are sourcing their materials sustainably. It's about prioritizing when we can recycle.”

Avrett said the company has an existing pipeline of 50 projects, with about eight for residential use and the rest for hospitality clients. One specific unit that the founder showed off during the facility tour is going to an Ayala Land project to use as a showroom. There are also projects lined up for delivery to clients in La Union and Batangas.

Although they are currently fulfilling orders for local clientele, the gameplan is to eventually export the modular homes overseas, initially to clients in the U.S. and Australia.

“Really the intention is building here and delivering for export,” he said. “Not to say that we can't meet local demands in the near future, but that's just sort of the vision for us, and sort of where we're going as a company. That’s going to be a priority in 2026, making sure that we're prepared to build houses here and ship them all over the world.”