A lot of people associate mobile/modular homes with being substandard, and there is some of that. But increasingly there’s also some of this factory built housing that’s actually superior in quality to what you’d find at a lot of our local subdivisions. Better materials, better fit, more uniform craftsmanship.

I’ve been in a few of these homes and the only difference you’d notice is that they are usually built with a raised foundation rather than a slab. We’re talking about 2×6 framing, 10ft interior ceilings, solid core doors and everything else that’s important. If anything, they’re more structurally sound than most of the 2×4 tract construction we get around here. They’re built in a controlled environment by a full time crew, using stock plans with several variations and finishes and they get several QC inspections and an enforecable warranty. You wouldn’t mistake them for a luxury home but then again most of the so-called “luxury homes” here are but dressed up tract homes. Not everyone needs a 4,500 SqFt big box.

I read one article a while back that factory built housing now comprises something like 30% of the market on a nationwide basis.

If we were really all about affordable housing, we’d be building a lot more projects featuring these units in the outlying areas.