A little over 30 years ago along Rt 15 in Selinsgrove, PA, a modular home builder had two model homes on his lot. They were both ranch style homes, 2 or 3 bedrooms, 1 bath models. One was 28’ x 44’ and the other was 28’ x 48’ if memory serves me. The sign said he would...

Over the last couple of years, a lot of new modular home factories have either opened their doors and are taking orders or are in the process of opening. It’s inevitable that many businesses fail in the first 3–5 years for a myriad of reasons, mostly from being under-financed...

Since 2010, the number of households that rent has grown from 32% to 36% with the addition of 4,000,000 new renters. Mid and high-income renters saw the biggest increase. With construction slowing down due to COVID-19 and lawmakers debating the pros and cons of rent forgiveness for those who...

The 2008 housing recession ended with many East Coast modular home factories closed forever along with scores of independent new home builders, both site and modular. There were no buyers looking for new custom homes. Then in 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast of the United States...

Whenever a site builder asks me why they should go modular, they are really asking me how they can make more money going modular. Some of them are long time site builders that have looked at converting to modular construction and just can’t bring themselves to pull the trigger. It’s...

Contrary to what we Boomers think, Millennials are no longer children. Born between 1981 and 1996, they are in their twenties, or even late thirties, and already entering the single family home market.  Millennials will outnumber Baby Boomers in 2020 and they’re a market segment...

I love stopping at Chick-fil-A, not only for the food but also to see how organized and disciplined every store is. The food isn’t bad either. It occurred to me that there must be a secret to their success that modular home factory management could use to ramp up their sales...

Just in case you haven’t looked out your window lately, new home construction is happening everywhere, especially on the East and West Coast. Traditional new home site builders are facing labor shortages in not only skilled trades but also in basic framing. This shortage is having a...

Recently I heard, once again, a speaker supporting total automation of the modular production process while comparing modular housing with automobile production lines. Let me put this to rest for hopefully the last time. Modular housing is not anything like the auto industry. There are two...

One of the people in the modular housing industry I’ve wanted to interview since I met him a few years back is Vaughan Buckley, the owner of Volumetric Building Companies in Philadelphia. He is the rising star more people in our industry should emulate. His vision for what is and could...