A new style of home building could help alleviate a shortage of homes in New England. According to housing market platform Realtor.com, a manufactured housing style that has been dubbed “Lego block” homes is helping to supply Vermont with houses that can be built in just four days. From Vermont-based home builder Huntington Homes, the assembly-line– style homes are built in block-like modules and then shipped to the construction site. This method of home building could be helpful for a state like Vermont, where just 2,000 homes were built in 2023—only a quarter of what the state needs to keep home prices affordable.
However, the home building method does have some drawbacks. While some regions have been successful in introducing manufactured housing types, many Americans often want homes with more customization. Factory-style homes have also had trouble navigating housing downturns in the past, making some regions concerned about the best way to implement this type of construction.
There is also the question of resale. There is no evidence that assembly-line homes suffer a slower appreciation in value, but some buyers may prefer homes built the old-fashioned way.
"From my experiences, there is a bit of a stigma attached to a factory-built home versus something built from the ground up," says Cara Ameer, an agent licensed in California and Florida.
But it depends on the area, she says. "If there is a lot of that type of inventory, then it may not have as negative of a perception versus if there are plenty of traditionally built single-family homes." Read more
