Just 17% of the Country Allows Manufactured Homes—and These Cities Could Benefit the Most From Easing Restrictions

The federal government has its eye on supercharging manufactured housing, aiming to encourage new innovations that bring down the cost of living.And yet, only a fraction of the country could actually see the benefit under current rules. Just 17% of the nation is zoned to explicitly allow manufactured housing communities, according to the latest Realtor.com® report on the sector.If this zoning hurdle were put aside, some cities could see major benefits from allowing more manufactured housing, Realtor.com found. Manufactured housing is booming in some cities, and the federal government has pushed changes to make it easier to build and finance manufactured homes.Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a task force that accelerates manufactured housing development. Congress also codified changes to the sector in its 21st Century Road to Housing Act this year.Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner says that even with these changes, municipalities get the final say in where homes can be built."The federal government can build on the innovations of the Road Act, bringing clarity to what can be accomplished by the removal of the chassis requirement and the d...