A Manufactured Home Offers Everything but Comes with a Lower Price Tag

Posted: Sep 13, 2012
Author: 1st Choice Home Centers

The manufactured home is slowly, but surely, gaining respect. While many people think of manufactured homes as mobile homes with a different name, there are some major differences.

Firstly, a mobile home refers to a home that was built before 1976, at a time when the government did not impose building regulations on trailers. Since then, factories have been building prefabricated homes to a much higher standard.

Secondly, today’s manufactured houses look just the same as brand new stick-built dwellings. They harmonize perfectly in neighborhoods, complete with garages and white picket fences. A manufactured home can be 2 stories high and have Energy Star appliances and state-of-the-art heating and cooling systems.

According to CFED (Corporation for Enterprise Development), 43% of all new American homes that were sold for under $150,000 in 2009 were manufactured homes. They also accounted for 23% of all new home sales under $200,000.

A manufactured home is not only cheaper to own than a stick-built home, but it’s cheaper to build and maintain. A manufactured home costs 10 – 35% less per square foot than a site-built home, according to Manufactured Housing Institute. You, the homeowner, score most of this saving at the factory because manufacturers buy massive amounts of materials, appliances and products at cheaper rates than on-site builders.

Furthermore, manufactured homes are built on an assembly line, which is more efficient and easier to control than building on-site. Factories can also lower labor costs by managing their workers more effectively. All too often, vandalism, theft of materials and bad weather adversely affect on-site builds.