Factory-built housing, which involves constructing some or all of a house off-site in a factory, has long presented a more affordable method of housing construction, capable of achieving greater material efficiency, higher labor productivity, and significant time savings.
In this brief, we highlight learnings from two place-based nonprofit housing developers using factory-built techniques: come dream. come build. (cdcb) in Brownsville, Texas, and Neighborhood Partnership Housing Services (NPHS) in southern California.
Why This Matters
As manufacturers and developers of factory-built housing increasingly incorporate energy-efficient and climate-safety features, scaling the use of factory-built housing is a potential solution to intersecting challenges related to the lack of affordable housing and the need to ensure our housing stock is resilient to escalating environmental threats.
What We Found
Through interviews with cdcb and NPHS staff and their partners, we draw out four barriers to scaling affordable and climate-resilient factory-built housing:
- a lack of existing designs and standards,
- difficulties with standardization across localities and regions,
- manufacturer resistance, and
- tensions between affordability and sustainability.
We conclude with the implications of these learnings and provide recommendations for policymakers interested in supporting factory-built housing models.
