That gives you two bedrooms, a kitchen and slick sides. But there is something else that helps explain their appeal. From behind Burrell, I can hear the friendly clack of billiards from the game room of the clubhouse. I hear splashing from the pool outside the common room and laughing voices. Through the window to my right, I see a narrow street with flags and chairs on every porch and friendly signs announcing the first and last names of the owners.
Community is the other thing.
People enjoy living in neighborhoods, and these tidy homes gathered close together along narrow lanes make a neighborhood. Since then, HUD codes went into effect for modular, panelized, or pre-cut homes. Manufactured homes are one of the fastest-growing segments of America's housing market. Tony Lucas, Director of Marketing and Product Development with Patriot Homes, one of the oldest and largest manufacturers, tells me that the industry expanded in a high-growth spurt in the late '80s, when interest rates fell. The humble manufactured home is one viable and versatile solution to the national housing crisis.