U.S. housing shortage fuels push for factory-built homes and vacant‑lot development

The United States faces a housing deficit estimated at about 4.7 million homes, with the median home price around $440,600—roughly five times the median household income. Investors see manufactured and modular housing as a cheaper alternative; a typical factory‑built home costs about $120,000.

Congress recently passed the bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act, which streamlines regulations for manufactured homes, allows multi‑story designs and eases zoning restrictions, aiming to increase overall housing supply.

Zillow research identified more than 300,000 empty for‑sale lots, representing 17.4% of all listings. Building a home on each of those lots could reduce the shortage by roughly 6% (about 300,000 homes). Kara Ng, senior economist at Zillow, called the lots “the lowest‑hanging fruit” and said that loosening zoning rules, streamlining permitting and expanding financing would be needed to turn the lots into homes.