Modular Homes: An Updated Look at a Rising Industry

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Whether it’s called a modular home, a systems-built home or a factory-built A completed modular home. Photo courtesy of Modular Homes, Inc. home, the modular home is a misunderstood product. Despite a steady growth in sales, the modular home industry still battles public misconception. The move towards green modular homes and a continued commitment to consumer education are helping to raise the public’s perception of this promising housing alternative. Continuing Education The modular home industry is still struggling to shake comparisons to mobile homes (or homes with axils and a chassis) and is equally confronted by misinformed consumers who perceive the modular product to be “cheap.” Although the modular home-building process does produce less construction waste, takes less time and can be a little Modular home construction. Photo courtesy of Modular Homes, Inc. easier on the budget, the end product is anything but cheap—and industry proponents are eager to spread the word. “The truth is modular homes appraise at the same, if not more, than a stick-built home,” insists David Cooper, president of Modular Homes, Inc., a N.J.-based modular home building company. “They are built with more materials, they are constructed in factories that have it down to a science and are built sturdy enough to sustain the hurricane-force winds of being driven down the highway.” Through educational efforts led mainly by manufacturers and builders, the modular home misconceptions are methodically being transformed into greater awareness. “We have classes and seminars to teach the benefits of modular homes, as well as green homes,” says Cooper. These educational opportunities A completed modular home. Photo courtesy of Modular Homes, Inc. exist for builders, consumers and real estate professionals and teach about the economical and environmental benefits to building modular as well as an all-important notion that “the modular house isn’t going to look any different than a traditional home,” Cooper adds. Green Modular Homes It’s fairly well-established that the modular home industry is inherently green. Factory building produces far less waste, keeps lumber dry (and thus free of mold) and guarantees precision cuts that result in a tighter-fitting, more energy-efficient home. This “green-by-nature” quality is helping modular builders promote their products to the growing ranks of green-savvy prospective homebuyers. “Just out of the Modular home construction. Photo courtesy of Modular Homes, Inc. factory a modular home can be 15 percent of the way towards LEED certification,” says Cooper, referring to the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED-H) certification program for residential structures. Cooper’s Modular Homes, Inc. (MHI), acts as general contractor to the homebuyer, from finalizing floor plans to on-site construction of the shipped modules. MHI’s “Building Green. Living Green” motto speaks to an industry-wide trend of building upon the green qualities imbued by the factory-built process. “We’re working on a LEED Silver certified home right now,” says Cooper, who added that the industry as a whole is still awaiting the “gold standard” for green, the as-yet not clearly defined or regulated term. To achieve the LEED certification, Cooper hires a LEED-certified consultant to advise on the project, and a LEED certified inspector is brought into the factory to oversee and sign off on the various steps of the construction process, just as would be done on a site-built home.

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