If you’re looking to get the most out of your “housing dollar,” you need to consider a manufactured home. Depending on the region of the country, construction costs per square foot for a new manufactured home average anywhere from 10 to 35 percent less than a comparable site-built home, excluding the cost of land. Today’s manufactured homes offer the quality construction, modern amenities and livability you are seeking…at a price that fits your lifestyle and your budget!

A manufactured home is constructed entirely in a controlled factory environment, built to the federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (better known as the HUD Code). A site-built home is built “on-site” using traditional building techniques that meet either a local or state building code.

Starting in 1976, the HUD Code established a stringent series of construction and safety standards that ensure that today’s manufactured homes are superior to “mobile homes,” the term used for factory-built homes produced prior to the introduction of the HUD Code. Today’s manufactured homes are dramatically different in appearance from the “mobile homes” of yesterday…with estimates that more than 90 percent of today’s manufactured homes never move from their original site. Manufactured homes, like site-built homes, are now available in a variety of designs, floor plans, and amenities. Today’s manufactured homes are indistinguishable from site-built homes and are fully compatible with any neighborhood architectural style.

Manufactured homes and mobile homes are both regulated by HUD, the Housing and Urban Development division of the federal government. According to HUD, a factory-built home prior to June 15, 1976 is a mobile home and one built after June 15, 1976 is a manufactured home. A manufactured home (formerly known as a mobile home) is built to the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (HUD Code) and displays a red certification label on the exterior of each transportable section. Manufactured homes are built in the controlled environment of a manufacturing plant and are transported in one or more sections on a permanent chassis.

Manufactured homes provide quality housing and an opportunity for homeownership. They often cost less than renting, and can offer more square footage and distance from neighbors than an apartment. The cost per square foot for a new manufactured home can be up to 50 percent less than the cost of a comparable site-built home, excluding land costs.