Manufactured homes and building-code limits spotlighted as part of broader housing affordability discussion

Manufactured-housing advocates and builders urged the Regulatory Reform Committee to ease zoning and regulatory barriers that they say limit affordable housing supply.

John Lindley, president and CEO of the Michigan Manufactured Housing Association, told the committee manufactured and modular homes are an underused source of attainable housing that can be delivered faster and at lower cost than many site-built homes. Lindley and Marge Burns, owner of Germano Management, said modern factory-built homes meet federally required HUD standards and state construction codes and can cost substantially less than comparable site-built houses. Lindley noted the association represents about 650 members across the supply chain; Burns said her firm manages two manufactured housing communities that together serve about 880 households.

Lindley cited statistics from a presentation and video included with the testimony: the average price of a new manufactured home in Michigan in 2023 was about $112,000; the median price of a single-family site-built home was described in the presentation as nearly $275,000. The video also said factory-built homes shelter nearly half a million Michiganders; Lindley later said manufactured homes provide homeownership opportunities for about 250,000 Michiganders.…