I’ve spent decades listening to builders, city planners, modular factory owners, developers, and politicians all point fingers about what’s stopping affordable housing. And you know what? They’re all right. And all wrong. Because it’s not one thing—it’s everything at once.
Here are the biggest, most persistent roadblocks to affordable housing—and why none of them can be solved in isolation.
Government Dragging Its Feet
Let’s be honest: the public sector moves like molasses. There’s often strong political will on paper, but actual progress takes years. Whether it’s HUD funding, state-backed low-income tax credits, or local affordable housing grants, the time between announcement and breaking ground feels like a lifetime.
City councils debate for months. Public hearings drag on. Environmental reviews take years. Meanwhile, the housing shortage grows. Even when there’s funding, local governments can’t act fast enough to approve zoning changes or issue permits. And when new leadership takes office, projects can stall or get scrapped altogether.
Factories can build homes in weeks—but they’re stuck waiting on paperwork that takes months.
Codes and Regulations That Don’t Keep Up
If the codebook were a living organism, it would be a dinosaur. Many cities still cling to zoning rules written in the 1950s: single-family only neighborhoods, outdated fire codes, strict height limits, and minimum parking requirements that make infill housing impossible.
Some jurisdictions require modular homes to go through additional inspections—even though they’ve already passed state certification. Others simply ban manufactured housing within city limits. There are places in the U.S. where it’s easier to build a strip mall than a duplex.
Every line of code adds cost, time, and friction. The more “modern” we try to build, the more we run into rules written for a very different world.
NIMBY Resistance and Community Pushback
Here’s one that almost every developer and factory owner has faced: “We support affordable housing… just not here.”
It starts with a few concerned neighbors, then balloons into full-blown resistance. They’ll cite traffic congestion, school overcrowding, strain on utilities, or neighborhood character. But often, the unspoken concern is fear of declining property values—or who might move in.
Projects get delayed, downsized, or killed in public meetings. And local politicians, sensing reelection challenges, often side with the loudest voices in the room.
I’ve seen modular projects that were shovel-ready get scrapped after a single heated community meeting. That kind of delay costs everyone—and pushes the affordable housing problem into the next ZIP code.
Builders and Developers Can’t Make the Math Work
Ask any builder or developer and they’ll tell you the same thing: We can build affordable housing—but not without help.
Land prices are sky-high. Material costs fluctuate daily. Skilled labor is scarce. And affordable housing projects come with narrow profit margins. You can’t blame builders for choosing higher-end projects that offer a better return—and fewer regulatory headaches.
For modular and offsite builders, there’s a huge opportunity to serve this market—but without guaranteed volume or secure financing, most can’t take the risk. Factories run on efficiency, not uncertainty. And most affordable housing projects are filled with delays and red tape.
Profit isn’t a dirty word—it’s how we stay in business. If affordable housing can’t be profitable at scale, it won’t get built.
Offsite Factories Are Still Held Back
Modular, panelized, and manufactured housing should be leading the charge here. In fact, many of us thought we’d be the savior of affordable housing by now. But there’s a problem: the systems around us haven’t caught up.
Most offsite factories need predictable volume, streamlined logistics, and fast approvals. Affordable housing developments tend to move slowly, face community opposition, and come with uncertain funding. That doesn’t work for a factory trying to keep production lines moving and workers employed.
So many factories quietly avoid the “affordable” market unless there’s a deep-pocketed developer or a steady state pipeline. Even when offsite housing is used, it’s often for market-rate projects instead of deeply affordable ones.
We have the tools—but not the structure to wield them properly.
No Infrastructure Where the Land Is
You can find “cheap” land—but it’s rarely where people want or need to live. Many affordable housing sites are too far from jobs, schools, or transportation. Even worse, they might not have proper sewer, water, gas, or electric hookups. Some don’t even have a paved road.
Cities often expect developers to foot the bill for new infrastructure—and those costs quickly turn affordable projects into unaffordable ones.
People don’t just need shelter—they need livable neighborhoods. Without infrastructure, we’re just scattering homes into isolation.
Financing and Insurance Don’t Fit the Model
Financing is still stuck in the past. Many lenders won’t touch offsite-built homes—especially if they’re on leased land or located in unconventional developments. Appraisers undervalue modular homes, banks hesitate, and insurance providers sometimes treat them like high-risk assets.
This makes homeownership harder for low- and middle-income buyers, and rental developments harder to fund. Even nonprofit developers can’t get off the ground if their backers won’t greenlight the financial model.
And without innovative financing, no amount of building technology will move the needle.
Labor and Supply Chain Disruptions
Post-pandemic, labor shortages are affecting nearly every trade. Electricians, framers, HVAC techs, finish crews—many are aging out or changing careers. That’s a major bottleneck for both onsite and offsite construction.
Even if a modular factory delivers a completed unit, local contractors still need to connect utilities, complete finish work, and pass final inspections. If one subcontractor doesn’t show up—or one key part doesn’t arrive—the project stalls.
Affordable housing projects, already running on tight margins, can’t absorb those delays easily.
A Thousand Tiny Cuts
This isn’t a war against one villain. It’s a battle against friction at every level—political, economic, cultural, logistical. None of these roadblocks are new. What’s new is how many of them are colliding all at once.
Offsite housing can be part of the solution. But we need governments to move faster, codes to modernize, communities to say “yes,” and financing tools that reflect today’s reality.
Solving the affordable housing crisis isn’t about choosing one strategy. It’s about pulling all the levers at once—and doing it before an entire generation gives up on ever owning a home.
Let me know in the comments: What’s the biggest obstacle you’ve faced when trying to bring affordable housing to life?
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Gary Fleisher, The Modcoach, writes about the modular and offsite construction industry at Modular Home Source.
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