Many modern day manufactured homes have upgraded their looks, attracting both buyers looking for value as well as style and sustainability.
"Sam Sendee, chef and owner of Thai House Restaurant in Danville, bought one of Valley Home Development's "granny units," a 600-square foot, two-bedroom, one-bath manufactured guest house for his 82-year-old mother and teenage daughter after seeing it at the Spa, Pool and Patio Expo last year in Pleasanton.
"We liked the idea of a separate unit for privacy," Sendee, 44 , said. "They had a pretty good system to build a house and it's a very reasonable price."
The $120,000 structure was placed in his back yard in Dublin by a crane before being affixed to a permanent foundation. In the next few weeks, it will be stuccoed and painted and look as if it had been part of the construction all along, said Steve Vallejos, 39, owner of Valley Home Development in Fairfield."
"Standard site-built homes cost about $250 a square foot, said Vallejos, while manufactured housing can be as low as $120 a square foot"
Prefab homes have also caught on with consumers look for a eco-friendly abode.
"Marmol Radziner Prefab in Los Angeles sells standard modular homes that come with solar panels. Their cheapest model is a one-bedroom, one-bath offered at $211,800 (solar panels are about $28,000 extra.) Michelle Kaufmann Designs in Oakland also sells her "environmentally-friendly" two-bedroom, two-bath, 1,347-square-foot modular Glidehouse for $188,580."
FULL STORY: Manufactured homes: nicer look but the same low prices
The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall
The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.
The Paradox of American Housing
How the tension between housing as an asset and as an essential good keeps the supply inadequate and costs high.
Report: Las Vegas, Houston Top List of Least Affordable Cities
The report assesses the availability of affordable rental units for low-income households.
Anchorage Leaders Debate Zoning Reform Plan
Last year, the city produced the fewest new housing units in a decade.
How to Protect Pedestrians With Disabilities
Public agencies don’t track traffic deaths and injuries involving disabled people, leaving a gap in data to guide safety interventions.
Colorado Town Fills Workforce Housing Need With ‘Dorm-Style’ Housing
Median rent in Steamboat Springs is $4,000 per month.
City of Yakima
City of Auburn
Baylands Development Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.