Key facts
- Cavco Industries will unveil its first manufactured home model built without a permanent steel chassis, the Grande Arbor, at the HUD Innovative Housing Showcase in Washington D.C.
- The showcase runs from September 22 to September 24 on the National Mall.
- The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, passed over two months ago, removed the permanent chassis requirement for manufactured housing.
- Cavco CEO William Boor stated that cost savings from removing the chassis may be offset by increased material and installation costs.
- The chassis-free design allows the home to sit closer to the ground, resembling a traditional stick-built home.
- Cavco Industries Vice President of Sales Eric Coulter believes showcasing new models combats stigma around manufactured housing.
Cavco Industries is set to unveil its Grande Arbor, a manufactured home model designed without a permanent steel chassis, at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Innovative Housing Showcase in Washington D.C. this week. The event, running from September 22 to September 24, highlights advancements in housing design and technology.
The introduction of the Grande Arbor follows the recent passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which removed the mandatory permanent chassis requirement for manufactured homes. While industry leaders anticipate that the full benefits of this change will take time to manifest, they believe it will foster more innovative designs, enable higher-density housing, and facilitate the placement of manufactured homes in urban and suburban areas.
According to the Niskanen Center, removing the permanent chassis could reduce construction costs by $5,000 to $10,000 per home. However, Cavco Industries executives suggest this figure may be misleading. Cavco CEO William Boor noted on a July 31 earnings call that the savings could be partially offset by the need for additional structural materials, such as wood, and potentially higher installation costs due to the requirement for cranes. Boor emphasized that the primary opportunity lies in enhanced design flexibility rather than significant cost reductions, enabling Cavco to develop products that can overcome zoning barriers and be deployed in urban settings.
The Grande Arbor features a double primary suite floor plan, with two private suites at opposite ends connected by a shared living space, catering to multigenerational living. Externally, the chassis-free design allows the home to sit closer to the ground, eliminating the need for steps or ramps and giving it a look similar to a traditional site-built home. Cavco believes this aesthetic improvement will help overcome outdated negative perceptions of manufactured housing among city councils and planning boards.
Cavco Industries and other manufactured housing companies see a significant market opportunity in expanding into denser urban and suburban areas, moving beyond their current concentration in rural communities. Chassis-free designs like the Grande Arbor are expected to aid this expansion by integrating more seamlessly into existing neighborhoods. Furthermore, a proposed HUD rule change allowing upper sections of multi-story manufactured homes to be transported and assembled without a permanent chassis could complement Cavco's designs, making multi-story manufactured housing more feasible. These developments could provide manufacturers greater access to high-cost, high-density submarkets where attainable housing is in high demand. The Manufactured Housing Institute reports that manufactured homes can be up to 50% less expensive than comparable site-built homes.