Modular Housing a Good Answer for the “Work from Home” Generation

Working from home may not be for everyone but it seems like the Millennials, those born 1981-1996, are getting very comfortable with it.

They are the ones that may have more Internet based work which allows them to work remotely and that is a situation many new home builders and developers are about to explore with vigor.

PFS Corporation

Mariotti Building Products

Viking Carrier

Why should someone with skills that can be remotely accomplished want to live in crowded high-tech areas where rents and home ownership is out of their reach when a Silicon Valley Millennial can move to say Vermont, South Carolina or anywhere else where they can live a slower lifestyle with affordable housing.

With apologies to Rod Serling, “It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the New Normal.”

Many Gen Z’ers with jobs that allow working from home are accelerating their decision to leave California to get into a wide-open space.

To keep costs down, developers are building on smaller lots and putting up more spec homes so buyers can move quickly. 

This exodus brings with it a need for builders, both on-site and off-site to bring these homes to fruition for the developer as fast as possible. Modular is the perfect solution to the site built labor shortage.

Now it’s time to enter the “New Normal Zone” which lies between man’s ability to meet this expanding need and the reality of the time needed to accomplish it. That is why modular construction could be beneficial in filling this time gap.

Modular construction however is having a great second half of the year. Pent up demand and low interest rates are pushing some modular factories out as far as 26 weeks!

So how can developers find modular housing that fits the Gen Z’s needs when this long lead time is already happening?

The answer could be the Pop Up Factory. Developers and housing investors will begin building their own modular and prefab factories serving only their needs and 2021 may be the year they begin building 100,000 sq ft factories designed to serve their needs only for the duration of their nearby projects before moving those factories to another area.

Developers finding an existing factory to cash in on the “work from home” crowd may only be able to find a few of them across the entire country and if one is available, it may not be for long.

“Coming up with ideas is the easiest thing on earth. Putting them down is the hardest.” – Rod Serling

Gary Fleisher is a housing veteran, editor/writer of the www.ModcoachNews.com, www.Modular-homecoach.com blogs and the ‘coming soon’ www.ModcoachConnects.com, Construction Consultant’s Directory. 

Contact modcoach@gmail.com