An Analysis of Single-Family Housing and Certain Alternatives to Alleviate the Market Depression

This study is an attempt to identify and analyze some of the reasons why the single-family housing market is in decline and whether contractors can build homes that can be affordable and yet meet demandsThe findings of the study discloses why the market in 1973 was in depression by discussing both the situation of the contractors and buyers. Reasons for contractors consist of inflation in building costs, archaic building codes, and high land prices. Reasons for the buyers consist of high mortgage interest rates and high cost of ownership in relation to income. Alternatives are disclosed that some contractors are now applying and others are offered that can further alleviate the problem. The findings also disclose that industrialized or modular homes significantly aid contractors to control costs and make housing affordable yet still desirable to potential buyersThe author concludes that the single-family house does have a future if there is a universal change in building construction instead of localized innovations by a few contractors. Additionally, the author suggests that modular housing offers the real opportunity for expansion in the housing market by offering the double-wide modular home as a substitute for conventional housing