Blog Posting # 878; Copyright 5 June 2026. EducateMHC
Know this! HUD-Code manufactured housing (‘MH’) is federally-regulated, performance-based, affordable-attainable, factory-built housing (a.k.a. one of four types of offsite construction: those being manufactured, modular & panelized housing, plus accessory dwelling units/ADUs, e.g. Park Model RVs), routinely paired with traditional stick-built, single-family residential housing (a.k.a. onsite construction, where building permits, starts & completions are tallied and reported monthly by the U.S. Census Bureau). Land lease communities (a.k.a. manufactured home communities, ‘mobile home parks’) are the commercial real estate (‘CRE’) component, or realty asset class, of MH. Along with various types of housing finance (e.g. chattel or ‘home only’ loans, and real estate-secured mortgages), constitute post-production MH.
EducateMHC is an MH historian, trade term and trend tracker, as well as MH information resource! Contact EducateMHC via (317) 881-3816; email: gfa7156@aol.com, or visit www.educatemhc.com to purchase ‘Community Management in the Manufactured Housing Industry’. This book belongs in every land lease community nationwide! And ‘SWAN SONG’ – a history of land lease communities & official record of annual MH production totals since 1955.
And my autobiography, ‘From SmittyAlpha6 to MHMaven’, describes personal combat adventures in Vietnam as a USMC lieutenant, a 45 year entrepreneur business career in MH & community ownership, as well as freelance consulting and authoring of 20 nonfiction texts.
George Allen is the sole emeritus member of the Manufactured Housing Institute (’MHI’), a founding board member of MHI’s National Communities Council (‘NCC’) division, an RV/MH Hall of Fame enshrinee, Allen Legacy columnist, and editor at large for MHInsider’ magazine.
APRIL 2026 TOTAL NEW RESIDENTIAL HOUSING REPORT
This compilation begins with 1,448,000 onsite construction completions reported by the U.S. Census Bureau, then converted to a monthly figure of 120,750 units completed.*1
To ascertain the estimated number of offsite construction units fabricated during April, add together: 9,207 HUD-Code manufactured homes reported by the Institute for Business Technology and Safety (‘IBTS’); 2,415 modular and panelized units (i.e. 2% of onsite construction); and, 1,617 accessory dwelling units/ADUs (i.e. 539 Park Model RVs X 3). Taken together, these three subtotals equal 13,239 units. And, when added to the 120,750 onsite construction estimate, equals 132,911 Total New Residential Housing Units for April 2026.
End Note.
- Sources of U.S. Census Bureau data: census.gov/construction/nrc/current/index/html
THE OFFSITE CONTINUUM
I borrowed the above title from housing trade publication ‘Offsite Builder’, and its’ recent feature, ‘The Offsite Continuum’, because it well describes what’s going on these days with onsite construction and offsite construction.
But first, a definition of the word CONTINUUM. Simply, the word describes a ‘continuous whole’. Just the sort of reality I’ve been advocating for more than a year now. Specifically; onsite construction is the only parameter (‘a basic factor in determining the nature of a system’) type housing the U.S. Census Bureau covers in its’ monthly new residential housing permits, starts, and completions report. To be a proper ‘continuum’, the U.S. Census Bureau would need to include offsite construction in its statistical mix.
Back to the above-referenced feature. In it, the author Kris Hawley describes offsite construction as comprising ‘structural components, panelization and modular systems (that) form a continuum of increasing factory production.” Not bad, but not inclusive enough; to this one must add HUD-Coe manufactured housing and accessory dwelling units/ADUs such as Park Model RVs, Tiny Houses, and of late, Clayton Homes’ 408 sq. ft. Buttercup ‘mini-dwelling’.
Further into the article, Hawley posits: “Depending on whose stats you believe, offsite construction represents either 3% (National Association of Home builders) or 6.4% (Modular building Institute) of construction starts in North America.” I beg to differ. As one can see in this blog posting; during the month of April 2026, 13,239 offsite construction units (i.e. HUD-Code housing, modular, panelized & ADUs) comprises 10.9 percent of the onsite construction units reported by the U.S. Census Bureau for the same time period.
How much longer are we, as major component of the overall housing industry, have to wait for appropriate recognition, i.e. inclusion in the monthly U.S. Census Bureau new residential housing report?
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BUILDING SCIENCES (‘NIBS’) ANNOUONCES PUBLICATION OF HUD REPORT ON ACCELERATING OFFSITE CONSTRUCTION FOR HOUSING
I have yet to read and study this report, so will share just an observation or two with you at this time.
The report aims to study opportunities to expand ‘industrialized construction’ to help meet our nation’s need for housing, especially in the area of offsite construction. (Where have we hears/read that before?)
“The report emphasizes HUD’s role is to enable innovation by removing outdated constraints and fostering private sector leadership and growth.”
So, watch for the next blog posting to learn more about this move to increase awareness and inclusion of offsite construction in our nation’s housing continuum.
George Allen