The American dream of owning a home still prevails and the modular housing industry is experiencing tremendous growth. More and more home buyers are becoming aware of the advantages of owning a modular home. With modern day technology and assembly line techniques the industry is overcoming the misconception that, “factory made homes are poorly built and don’t measure up to stick-built homes.”
The term "Factory Built" means many things to many people. It can describe homes built on-site using panels, walls pre-fabricated and shipped directly from the factory to the job site. The phrase can also be used for the modular housing industry — built as whole sections or modular units in a plant and then attached on a permanent foundation with the use of a crane. Finally, it can describe HUD-code homes, also known as manufactured homes or sometimes referred to as mobile homes.
The factory built housing idea isn’t new. Sears Roebuck offered a prefabricated “modern home” in their spring 1908 general catalog, which was shipped by train. Sears sold around 100,000 of these homes from 1908 to 1939. The use of production-line techniques really kicked into high gear after World War II and made a sizable contribution to reducing the housing shortage at that time.
In the 1960s, the mobile home industry made an evolutionary split. One branch evolved into recreational vehicles (RVs) to the point where the house now tows the car. The other branch evolved into manufactured homes, 95 percent of which now become permanent dwellings once they are transported from the factory to the site. Modular housing is also popular in many countries around the world.
Today, even conventional stick-built homes are using an increasing amount of factory assembled components. Roof and floor trusses, pre-hung doors and windows, modular cabinets and fiberglass bath and shower units are standard prefab items.
MODULAR
HOME RESOURCES 
The American dream of owning a home still prevails and the modular housing industry is experiencing tremendous growth. More and more home buyers are becoming aware of the advantages of owning a modular home. With modern day technology and assembly line techniques the industry is overcoming the misconception that, “factory made homes are poorly built and don’t measure up to stick-built homes.” 