According to the U.S.A.-based Manufactured Housing Institute's Industry Overview for 2021, the average construction cost of a manufactured home is 57$ per square foot compared to 119$ per square foot for an onsite built home - 50% less. This affordability is evidence of the successful application of industrial principles developed throughout the 20th century. From the earliest trailer coaches in the 1920s, to single and double-wide’s evolution in the aftermath of World War II, mobile homes influenced single family home production in the United States; even referred to as American vernacular by modern architect Paul Rudolf. Negative undertones associated with subpar construction forced United States Congress to adopt the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Act in 1974. This increased and imposed national standards for quality to stabilize the industry's credibility. The term manufactured home also conveyed manufacturing potentials and dissociated the industry from the entrenched idea of impermanence.
Still representing 9% of all single-family housing starts, the dream of the industrialized house is alive and supported by dynamic forward-thinking producers envisioning greater demand coming from the current lack of housing supply and a dearth of traditional construction trades. Redefining the industry and promoting design and efficiency also led to a new term: CrossMod®. An industry initiative in 2016 highlighted the renewed need to elevate industry standards and more importantly to reach a new generation of consumers still inhibited by enduring connotations of less than par products. Linked to the crossover that has become an immensely popular breeding of cars with SUVs in the automobile industry, the CrossMod® presents some of the features of a site-built home, most notably a permanent foundation. Modular sections can also be combined and stacked to construct homes that are difficult to distinguish from their site-built counterparts and that come with the advantages of constantly improving manufacturing processes.
Short some 5.4 million single family dwellings according to recent studies (USA), the market potential is clear. It remains to be seen if this most recent change in terminology will reform the industry and increase market share: 9% of all new housing starts represents a figure that is strangely unchanged from the 9% of housing starts in 1954.
 |
| Evolution from the Mobile home to the CrossMod® |
No comments:
Post a Comment