Manufactured homes have become an increasingly attractive and affordable alternative to the traditional site-built house. Factory-built and delivered to the home site in one or more sections by tractor-trailer, these structures now come in all shapes and sizes, with exteriors of varying styles, textures, and materials, and with interior space and layout approximating that found in more conventional houses—and they cost less. Once considered suitable only for the two extremes of the market spectrum, young first-time buyers or retirees, today manufactured homes allow homeownership to be within the reach of a much larger segment of society. Whether in a specifically designated manufactured housing subdivision or on an individual lot in town or country, the modern factory-built home is largely fulfilling America's urgent need for affordable housing.

A descendant of the mobile home, manufactured homes no longer are considered temporary in any sense of that word...