On May 14, 2025, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, chaired by Representative Mike Flood (NE-01), convened a pivotal hearing to address the nation’s escalating housing crisis. The session spotlighted innovative housing solutions—such as manufactured, modular, and 3D-printed homes—as viable avenues to expand affordable housing options for American families.
Chairman French Hill (AR-02) highlighted the urgency of the situation, noting, “In my hometown of Little Rock, the median home price has risen over 11% in the past year. This rapid price increase combined with inflation’s impact on financing costs is putting homeownership out of reach for many hardworking Americans.”
Subcommittee Chairman Mike Flood emphasized the financial barriers to traditional homeownership, stating, “According to data from the National Association of Home Builders, the median cost of constructing a new single-family home in 2024 was $428,215. For many Americans, a home built at that cost is simply not affordable.”
Representative John Rose (TN-06) added, “It is no secret that we are facing a serious housing shortage in this country. I hear from my constituents back in the sixth district of Tennessee all the time about their difficulties locating affordable housing.”
Representative Mike Lawler (NY-17) pointed to supply constraints, remarking, “At the heart of this crisis is supply. We are millions of units underbuilt in this country and simply not building enough and certainly not fast enough.”
Advocates for innovative housing solutions presented compelling arguments.
Representative William Timmons (SC-04) stated, “The U.S. housing market has long faced a significant supply gap, particularly for low and moderate income families. While traditional site-built homes have largely dominated, innovative solutions like manufactured, modular, and 3-D printed homes present a promising path to expand affordable housing options.”
Bill Boor, President and CEO of Cavco Industries, testified on behalf of the Manufactured Housing Institute, highlighting the affordability of manufactured homes. He noted that in the previous year, the average price of a manufactured home was $124,300, significantly lower than the $409,000 average price of a site-built home (excluding land).
Eric Schaefer, Chief Business Development Officer at Fading West, underscored the national housing deficit, stating, “As of 2025, the United States is estimated to be 3.8 million housing units short, and that number is increasing each year.”
The hearing concluded with a consensus on the need to remove regulatory barriers and promote innovative housing solutions to address the affordability crisis. Policymakers and industry leaders alike recognized that embracing new construction methods could play a crucial role in expanding housing opportunities for American families.
Once again, we have a Government committee that acknowledges the housing problems, listens to housing experts, gives us useless and tired statistics, but offers absolutely no concrete answers. This is so bizarre!
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Gary Fleisher, The Modcoach, writes about the modular and offsite construction industry at Modular Home Source.
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