Texas Remains the Largest State for the Number of Manufactured Home Factories, Production and Placements.
Montgomery County is the No. 1 county in Texas for manufactured housing placements so far this year (2023), according to the Texas Manufactured Housing Association.
In 2022, the county trailed just behind Harris County in installments of new manufactured homes. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, manufactured homes are factory-assembled housing that is transported to sites in one or more units.
According to the Texas Manufactured Housing Association , Montgomery County trails just behind Harris County for the total number of new installments in 2022. As of June, 258 homes have been sold in Montgomery County.
On the Rise
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Manufactured Housing Survey, 19,865 homes were shipped to Texas in 2033, more than any other state. As of March, 3,455 had arrived in Texas in 2023. In fact, the state of Texas has been the #1 state (by far) for manufactured home shipments in the U.S. spanning decades.
Rob Ripperda, vice president of operations for the Texas Manufactured Housing Association, said manufactured homes help accommodate housing needs as more people migrate to the state.
“Eight to 10% of the new housing construction in Texas for a long time has come from manufactured homes,” he said. “Texas is the largest state for the number of manufactured housing factories, production and placements.”
Real estate experts, developers and builders attribute the trend to affordability, product quality and ease of construction. In fast-growing counties, such as Harris and Montgomery, Ripperda said manufactured housing communities are creating a sense of community while providing an easy and fast setup process.
For those looking to place a manufactured home on their own property, Ramsey Cohen, Clayton Homes director of community and industry affairs, said Conroe’s existing zoning laws are not overly restrictive on off-site built housing. Clayton Homes sells manufactured homes
Behind the Trend
According to Richr, a home selling website. The average new home construction in Texas costs around $447,500, not including the price of land. In comparison, the U.S. Census Bureau reports the average price for a new single-wide manufactured home in the U.S. was $88,000 in November.
“Higher interest rates impact industries differently,” said Harold Hunt, senior research economist at the Texas Real Estate Research Center, in a news release June 7. “For example, higher mortgage rates reduce housing affordability, and some prospective buyers leave the site-built market and enter the manufactured-housing sphere.”
Ripperda said the increased quality of manufactured housing has also drawn more buyers. According to the Manufactured Housing Institute, manufactured homes today use the same building materials as traditional site-built homes, are engineered for safety and energy efficiency, and are regulated by federal law.
“Products have come a long way over the years as technology advances,” Ripperda said.”It’s a different world.”
