For generations, the starter home was an important part of the American dream. It didn’t have to be enormous, have a three-car garage, or feature a sprawling backyard. It simply needed to be a comfortable, affordable place where someone could begin building a life. But somewhere along the way, starter homes became increasingly difficult to find.

Today, first-time homebuyers face rising home prices, expensive land, limited inventory, and zoning restrictions that can make building smaller, more affordable homes surprisingly difficult. The frustrating part is that we already have a way to build affordable, high-quality starter homes: manufactured housing.

According to recent research examining manufactured housing and land-use regulations, one of the biggest obstacles isn’t the cost of building the home itself. It’s finding somewhere you’re legally allowed to put it.

Manufactured Homes Could Help Bring Back the Starter Home

Manufactured housing has long offered an affordable alternative to traditional site-built construction. Because manufactured homes are built in factories, manufacturers can streamline production, purchase materials efficiently, reduce weather-related delays, and use specialized construction teams. Those advantages help make new homes available at prices that can be considerably lower than comparable site-built construction.

In an October 2026 opinion article titled How States Can Clear the Way for the Starter Homes We Need, housing researcher Emily Hamilton highlighted just how significant that difference can be. According to the analysis she cited, constructing and installing a smaller, single-section manufactured home can cost approximately 35% of what a comparable site-built home costs, even after accounting for transportation and permanent foundation installation.

For households priced out of conventional new construction, manufactured housing could offer another path toward owning a brand-new home. But there’s a catch: an affordable home isn’t particularly helpful if local regulations make it impossible to place that home on an affordable piece of land.

The Problem Isn’t Always the House. It’s the Lot.

When people discuss the cost of housing, they usually focus on the structure itself. How much does it cost to build? How expensive are materials and labor? But the land underneath the home is another major part of the equation.

In many communities, local zoning laws require houses to sit on relatively large lots. These minimum lot-size requirements can make sense in certain circumstances, particularly where infrastructure, environmental conditions, or public safety concerns limit development. However, in areas with adequate infrastructure, unnecessarily large minimum lots can dramatically increase the cost of homeownership.

Consider a buyer who wants a modest single-section manufactured home. The home itself may be affordable, but if local zoning requires that home to sit on a quarter-acre or half-acre lot, purchasing the land could cost as much as, or more than, the home. Suddenly, an affordable housing option becomes much less affordable.

The home isn’t the problem. The amount of land required to put it somewhere is.

How Much Land Does a Manufactured Home Actually Need?

One of the most interesting points in Hamilton’s research is how little land may be necessary to accommodate certain manufactured homes. She describes a hypothetical 15-foot-wide by 80-foot-long single-section home that could fit on a lot measuring approximately 25 feet by 100 feet. That’s just 2,500 square feet, or a little less than one-sixteenth of an acre.

For comparison, many residential zoning districts require significantly larger lots. The research examined three regions:

• Northern Virginia: Typical residential zoning requires more than one-third of an acre per home.
• Hampton Roads, Virginia: Typical requirements are approximately one-quarter acre.
• Nashville, Tennessee, region: Typical requirements exceed one-half acre.

Those figures illustrate just how much land local regulations may require compared with the physical footprint of a smaller home. Of course, whether a manufactured home can actually be installed on a particular lot depends on setbacks, utility access, fire safety, delivery requirements, parking, drainage, and other local standards.

But the broader point remains: a comfortable home doesn’t necessarily need an enormous piece of land. And when land is expensive, requiring more of it can price buyers out of homeownership.

Smaller Lots Could Mean More Affordable Homes

Developers often evaluate whether a new home is financially feasible by comparing the cost of the land with the expected value of the completed property. Hamilton’s analysis uses a common development guideline: land should account for no more than approximately one-third of the final home’s sale price.

Using an estimated installed price of $94,000 for a single-section manufactured home, the analysis identifies a target land price of roughly $47,000. But in areas with expensive land and large minimum lot requirements, finding a suitable parcel at that price can be extremely difficult.

That creates a strange situation. A manufacturer can build an affordable home, and a buyer may be able to afford that home, but local land-use regulations can make the overall project financially unrealistic.

Allowing smaller residential lots in appropriate areas could change that equation. Instead of requiring every new house to occupy a large parcel, communities could allow more modest homes on appropriately sized lots. That could make both the land and the finished property more attainable for first-time buyers.

Some States Are Already Changing Their Rules

Manufactured housing has historically faced restrictions that other types of single-family housing do not. Some communities have prohibited manufactured homes from certain residential neighborhoods entirely, while others have imposed special appearance requirements, construction-related restrictions, or additional conditions that don’t apply equally to comparable site-built homes.

But that landscape is changing. According to Hamilton’s October 2026 analysis, six states have enacted legislation since 2020 to reduce zoning discrimination against manufactured housing. That brings the total to 31 states with laws limiting local governments’ ability to exclude manufactured homes.

Some of the strongest protections require municipalities to permit manufactured homes on lots where site-built single-family homes are allowed. They may also prohibit local governments from imposing special design requirements on manufactured homes that aren’t applied to other homes.

These developments recognize that a home’s method of construction shouldn’t automatically determine whether it belongs in a residential neighborhood.

But Zoning Reform Hasn’t Gone Far Enough

Even states with strong protections for manufactured housing haven’t necessarily experienced dramatic increases in manufactured home placement. Hamilton specifically examined New York, Utah, and Washington, three states that adopted particularly strong protections during the 1994–2025 study period. None experienced a large, sustained increase in manufactured housing shipments relative to the national trend.

The analysis suggests that eliminating rules specifically targeting manufactured homes may not be enough. A community can technically allow manufactured housing while still requiring every home to meet expensive development standards.

Those requirements might include:

• Large minimum lot sizes
• Minimum house sizes
• Garage requirements
• Particular roof designs
• Specific exterior materials
• Additional architectural standards

Some of these requirements can increase construction costs regardless of whether the home is factory-built or constructed on-site. Others may be especially difficult to reconcile with smaller, more economical manufactured home designs. The result is that manufactured homes may be legally permitted but financially impractical.

Allowing affordable housing and making affordable housing feasible aren’t always the same thing.

Why Smaller Homes Deserve a Place in More Neighborhoods

Not every household needs a large home. A young professional purchasing a first home may be perfectly comfortable in a modest two-bedroom floor plan, while a couple downsizing after their children have moved out might prefer a smaller home with less maintenance. A retiree may want a comfortable, manageable living space without taking on an expensive mortgage, and a young family might prefer an affordable three-bedroom home over continuing to rent.

Manufactured homes can accommodate a wide variety of these needs. Single-section homes, in particular, can offer practical layouts with kitchens, living rooms, bathrooms, bedrooms, storage, and modern finishes in a relatively compact footprint.

But when zoning requires every house to occupy a large lot or meet expensive design standards, smaller homes lose much of their financial advantage. Making room for modestly sized homes isn’t about lowering expectations. It’s about recognizing that different households have different needs and budgets.

Manufactured Homes Can Fit Into Traditional Neighborhoods

One of the most persistent misconceptions about manufactured housing is that these homes belong exclusively in manufactured home communities. That’s simply not true. Manufactured homes can be installed on privately owned land, including in residential neighborhoods where local regulations permit them.

Today’s manufactured homes may also look very different from what some people imagine. Modern models can feature attractive residential-style exteriors, contemporary siding, pitched roofs, covered porches, spacious kitchens, open floor plans, large windows, walk-in closets, and multiple bedrooms and bathrooms.

When properly installed and maintained, a modern manufactured home can be an attractive addition to a neighborhood. The fact that much of the construction took place inside a factory doesn’t change its ability to provide comfortable housing.

As more communities reconsider exclusionary zoning practices, manufactured homes could become a more common part of the residential landscape.

This Isn’t Just About Manufactured Housing

There’s another important point in Hamilton’s research: reducing minimum lot-size requirements wouldn’t benefit manufactured homes alone. It could also make smaller site-built homes more financially feasible.

When a developer must purchase an expensive, oversized lot, there is often an incentive to construct a larger, more expensive home to justify the land cost. But when smaller lots are permitted, smaller homes become more practical to build.

That could create opportunities for manufactured starter homes, modest site-built houses, smaller single-family properties, more attainable infill development, and additional homeownership opportunities.

The goal isn’t to replace traditional construction with manufactured housing. It’s to give communities and buyers more options, because solving the housing affordability problem will likely require many different approaches.

What Does This Mean for Manufactured Homebuyers?

If you’re considering purchasing a manufactured home and placing it on your own land, zoning should be one of the first things you investigate. Before purchasing property, contact the local planning or zoning department to verify that your intended home is permitted.

You’ll want to understand:

• Whether HUD Code manufactured homes are allowed
• Minimum lot-size requirements
• Required setbacks
• Minimum home-size restrictions
• Foundation and installation requirements
• Exterior design standards
• Utility availability
• Delivery access
• HOA or deed restrictions
• Applicable permits and inspections

It’s important to investigate these requirements before committing to a property. A beautiful, affordable parcel isn’t a bargain if you cannot legally install the home you want.

Factory Expo Home Centers: Helping Buyers Explore Affordable Homeownership

At Factory Expo Home Centers, we believe homeownership should be attainable for more people, and manufactured housing offers an important way to make that possible.

Our home centers feature a variety of new manufactured homes, including compact single-section floor plans and spacious multi-section designs. Buyers can explore available models, compare layouts, review features, and find a home that fits their household and budget.

Our housing consultants can also help explain home dimensions, available options, and important delivery and installation considerations. Local zoning and permitting decisions remain the responsibility of the appropriate authorities, but understanding the home you want to purchase is an important part of planning for a successful installation.

Whether you’re purchasing your first home, downsizing, or looking for an affordable way to build on property you own, manufactured housing may provide options worth exploring.

The Future of Starter Homes Depends on More Than Construction Costs

America’s housing affordability challenge is complicated. Construction costs, financing, infrastructure, land availability, and zoning all play important roles.

Manufactured housing has already demonstrated that modern homes can be produced efficiently and offered at more attainable prices than many comparable site-built alternatives. But those savings can disappear when regulations require buyers to purchase more land or build a larger, more elaborate home than they actually need.

The research highlighted by Hamilton suggests that meaningful reform may require more than simply allowing manufactured homes in additional neighborhoods. It may also require reconsidering the minimum lot sizes and design mandates that make small, affordable homes difficult to build in the first place.

The Bottom Line

The starter home doesn’t need to disappear. We already know how to build comfortable, attractive, affordable homes in a wide range of sizes, and manufactured housing is proof of that. The challenge is making sure communities allow those homes to be placed where people want and need to live. Reducing unnecessary zoning restrictions, permitting appropriately sized residential lots, and treating manufactured homes fairly could help open the door to more attainable homeownership. Because the American dream was never supposed to require a four-bedroom house, a three-car garage, and half an acre of land. Sometimes it just requires a front door, a place to call your own, and a realistic way to afford it.