The cost of owning a home has skyrocketed all over the country. Affordability is a main factor as to why younger generations are avoiding buying a home. Increased demand matched with a shortage of builders is causing prices to rise. The builders that are available are charging way more, leaving many unable to afford home ownership. As demand for housing continues to rise, so does the cost of home ownership. One alternative gaining in popularity is manufactured housing.
What are manufactured houses?
Manufactured houses have quickly become response to the growing housing crisis. Manufactured houses, are homes built off-site, often mass produced, that are then promptly delivered to a particular location to be set up. These homes are vastly more affordable, averaging about $70,000 a house compared to regular homes for which the national average is $287,000.
Especially in cities like Los Angeles where the medium home value is over $600,000, manufactured housing communities may be the answer for low income people unable to afford traditional homes. People who want to live in more desirable areas but can’t afford to buy or even rent in there can buy manufactured homes instead in the same areas.
How do they work?
Manufactured housing communities work similarly to trailer parks. People can live in a land-lease area owned by a landlord where they can park their manufactured home. In many instances these communities function like condo associations. Many of them have social and or activity clubs and even fitness centers. According to the Manufactured Housing Communities of Arizona, these neighborhoods consist of, mobile home parks, manufactured housing communities, park model communities and parks that rent spaces to recreational vehicles.” Manufactured housing communities in many ways functions exactly like regular residential neighborhoods do now. Neighbors will already have something in common that connects them.
Affordability
Everything from the cost to make these manufactured homes to the actual buying price is why many often float manufactured housing as a possible solution to the housing crisis. On average manufactured homes can cost up to 50% less per square foot. Currently the median family income for those who go the manufactured route is $34,700, though many have incomes exceeding $50,000. Keeping up with trends in housing, particularly among younger generations, manufactured housing meets the trend of being smaller and more affordable. As people continue to get priced out of neighborhoods by the increasing cost of traditional homes, manufactured housing communities may quickly become an attractive alternative.
Environmental Benefits
Perhaps one of the most appealing aspects of manufactured housing is the positive effect in can have on the environment. The environment is on the minds of many modern day home buyers. More and more families are going green with their appliances and finding environmentally friendly ways to build their homes. As the prices of solar panels continues to decline more and more people are taking advantage of them. Thanks to the construction code standards at HUD, manufactured housing, from construction to completion can actually create 90% less waste, making it a very environmentally conscious way to build. With that, manufactured housing may not just be a solution to the housing crisis, but also prove to an efficient partial solution to addressing the climate crisis,