Manufactured Homes are more affordable and Safer than Ever: Can They Help Solve the Housing Crisis?
Producers and federal housing officials are eager to point out that today’s manufactured homes present a variety of size and design options, and are safer than ever.
The Federal government says new safety standards and building materials mean home buyers priced out of site-built homes and have viable options.
Terrace Heights in Dubuque, Iowa, may fit common notions of what an older manufactured home community looks like, It features rows of small nondescript “mobile homes” set along quiet streets.
Some of the homes date back to the 1970’s. That was before climate change kicked up the ferocity and frequency of storms.
“If a tornado were to come into Dubuque, we would have to literally pack up the animals, get in a car and go find someplace safe”, said Lynn Murphy, who lived at Terrace Heights for about five years. The structure was built in 1978.
“You move into a trailer, especially a trailer park, because you want lower rent,” she said.
More than 800 miles from Dubuque, a group of manufactured homes in Washington presented a very different picture in early June. Model homes that would have not look amiss in any new subdivision in the country lined the National Mall for the Housing and Urban Development Innovative Housing Showcase., with numerous materials and features often not found in trailers and mobile homes in the past: granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and even customized floor plans..
“I encourage everybody to see what these homes look like. They will really surprise you,” said Teresa Baker Payne, who leads HUD’s manufactured housing program.
Beyond the amenities, HUD officials – and the Biden administration – say modern manufactured housing represents a solution to the affordable housing crisis and provides the safety and energy efficiency features that make the homes climate resilient.
People often use the terms ”mobile homes” and manufactured homes interchangeably. Mobile homes, what Murphy refers to as trailers, were generally built before 1976 and do not conform to the HUD Code, which sets standard for all manufactured housing in the country.
Today, the average price of a new manufactured home like the ones on display at the HUD showcase is about $127,250, according to data from the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI). According to Zillow.com. The average price of a site-built house in Dubuque, where Murphy lives, is about $230,000.
