The James E Forrestal Building, Washington, D.C. offices for the U.S. Department of Energy.
The Manufactured Housing Institute, in a newsletter email to members on June 30, reported that the pending U.S. Department of Energy rules for manufactured homes would be delayed for tier 2 homes until 180 days after DOE publishes its final enforcement procedures. The standard for tier 1 homes remains unchanged at 60 days post publication.
“MHI has been a leading voice and advocate in favor of this delay, noting the importance of the compliance date coming after the testing, compliance, and enforcement provisions are finalized” and for tier 1 compliance to come before tier 2, MHI said in its communication.
MHI praised the White House for urging action, and stated the “fundamentally flawed energy conservation standards for manufactured housing” threatened to reduce affordable housing supplies and raise housing costs for American households.
“Today’s action supports both affordable housing and American manufacturing jobs, and buys time to reevaluate the approach taken by the prior administration to energy conservation standards for manufactured housing, which were serving neither the interests of energy efficiency, nor affordable housing,” MHI stated. “We will continue to work with the Trump administration and members of Congress on a bi-partisan basis to address the fundamental flaws in the statute and streamline confusing and duplicative regulations with the goal of reducing the costs of owning and operating a home.”
What started as a one-man operation behind the family hardware store in Phoenix, Arizona now stands as an industry-leading manufactured housing company with a mission to help solve the housing crisis.
Where It All Began
Al Ghelfi, the early visionary who set Cavco’s course for home sales. Photo courtesy of Cavco.
In 1965, Al Ghelfi founded Roadrunner Manufacturing, also known as Cavalier Manufacturing, and began building recreational truck campers in his father’s hardware store lumber yard. Working with a local salesman, Ghelfi soon had a steady stream of satisfied customers buying his campers. And that’s where it all began.
Cavalier Manufacturing, now Cavco Industries, was the beginning of what has become a great American success story. Cavalier, which solely produced truck campers at the time, grew steadily during the 1960s. But the gasoline scarcity and subsequent price hikes in the 1970s prompted Ghelfi to reimagine his business plan.
Americans had suddenly stopped buying truck campers when recreational car travel became more expensive, and Ghelfi knew he needed to pivot. When product demand slowed, Ghelfi’s business partner suggested they declare bankruptcy. But Ghelfi had other plans. He bought out his business partner and opted to move forward with building mobile homes — no gasoline required.
“We will be the best one-per-day mobile home builder in the world, Ghelfi was quoted as saying. “That’s all we’ll build.”
When Cavalier Manufacturing shifted from building recreational truck campers to building housing, Ghelfi rebranded Cavalier Company as Cavco Industries.
Cavco continued to flourish and broaden its market by producing manufactured homes. Ghelfi’s business was booming, and Cavco’s revenue quadrupled in the late 1970s.
An early image of Cavco’s executives talking outside the plant in Phoenix.
Cavco Pioneers A New Market: The Park Model Industry
Cavco has a long history of developing innovative products and close customer relationships, so it is no surprise that Cavco led the industry in the development and production of park model homes beginning in 1988.
During this era of innovation, Cavco built for the outdoor hospitality industry, supplying vacation rentals, “glamping” cabins, cottages and other specialty projects to campgrounds, RV parks and other recreational hospitality businesses.
To date, Cavco has sold thousands of park models, cabins, and cottages and was largely responsible for the park model boom that first swept Arizona in the 1990s.
In 2023, Cavco partnered with a solar contractor, installing a solar array at the new Glendale park model facility to provide solar capacity to generate sustainable power. The rooftop modules and parking canopies produce approximately 60 percent of the electrical power for this temperature-controlled indoor facility.
“For our first solar project, we were looking for a way to minimize our electric costs in our first air-conditioned manufacturing facility. Solar energy is a cost-saving investment in every climate and helps us achieve our mission to build homes in a way that keeps costs low.”
— Cavco Senior Vice President of Corporate Development Steve Like
From September 2023 to March 2025, this first project eliminated 1,400 tons of CO2 emissions, which is the equivalent of planting 27,500 trees or eliminating more than 8.5 million miles in driving a gasoline-powered car. Plans are in the works to solarize three more Cavco plants.
Cavco brought out a new home at the International Builder’s Show in 2025. The indoor-outdoor appeal of the place offers multiple levels surrounded by deck space.
Cavco Partnerships, Expansion, Acquisitions
In 1996, Centex Corporation ventured into the world of manufactured and modular home building, choosing to acquire for $75 million an 80 percent ownership stake in Cavco. Seven years later, Centex exited the manufactured housing industry, and Cavco was once again an independent company, now listed on the NASDAQ.
Over the past two decades, Cavco has continued to grow to meet customer demands by hand-selecting and acquiring manufactured and modular homebuilders across the country. These acquisitions include:
• Fleetwood Homes — 2009 • Palm Harbor Homes —2011 • Chariot Eagle RV Park Models — 2015 • Fairmont Homes — 2015 • Friendship Homes — 2015 • Destiny Homes — 2019 • Commodore Homes — 2021 • Solitaire Homes — 2023
Cavco Names New President and CEO
After serving on the board of directors since 2008 and as chairman of the board in 2018 and 2019, Bill Boor became president, CEO and director of Cavco Industries in 2019. As a result of his passion for affordable housing and for the Cavco employees, his leadership systemically changed the company and impacted the industry.
As chairman of the Manufactured Housing Institute, Boor lobbies at the state and federal level for zoning changes and other affordable housing initiatives. He also testified at the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, representing the industry in energy efficiency and environmental, social and governance (ESG) deliberations. Boor is committed to providing affordable, high-quality and energy-efficient homes for customers and to creating a safe, rewarding workplace for employees.
“I stepped into the CEO role of a very successful company,” Boor said. “Rather than continuing on the established path, we quickly redefined our operating philosophy, integrated our operating businesses and made an explicit strategic commitment to the development and success of our people. We’re a tighter and more aligned company with a shared vision of making an impact in affordable housing.”
It didn’t take long to see that Boor cared about more than simply growing the company’s bottom line. As an outgrowth of One Cavco — the cultural core values he introduced — this ongoing investment in Cavco’s employees led to extensive safety improvements, product innovations, and developmental programs.
Cavco initiated its Safety Now program in 2020. As a result, over the last four years, the company’s Total Recordable Injury Rate, or TRIR, has steadily improved. In 2024, 90 percent of Cavco’s manufacturing locations achieved a TRIR below the manufactured housing industry average of 7.7.
In an effort to tackle the affordable housing crisis close to home, Homes for Our Own was launched in 2022. Primarily funded through employee contributions and matching company funds, this initiative supports employees who would like to purchase their first home. The effort provides financial education that serves them for a lifetime, as well as contributing matching funds for homeownership.
Cavco also implemented Master of Craft, a structured career development plan for frontline staff that received an APEX Award by Training magazine. The award is presented to the top corporations worldwide that have set the benchmark for employee training and development.
In 2023, Cavco launched its Anthem series, the first nationally available, multi-family HUD-approved duplex homes. This product innovation marked a significant step in Cavco’s commitment to help end the affordable housing crisis. The Anthem duplex provides an affordable answer to what federal and local governments have been asking for by doubling the housing density on the same available land.
Cavco Grows Strong
With 31 production facilities at the close of 2024, the combined Cavco brand represents more than 560 years of manufactured and modular homebuilding industry experience. Additionally, the company includes 79 retail locations and employs approximately 6,200.
As the company celebrated its diamond anniversary, Cavco is introducing a new tagline — “Where Exceptional Meets Affordable.”
“In four words, the tagline resonates with customers and supports our One Cavco commitment to provide the industry’s most exceptional homes at affordable prices,” Cavco Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications Colleen Rogers said. “Our brand represents this commitment to build homes with unmatched value — and with the exquisite finishes and family-friendly designs our customers want.
“This commitment continues to be the foundation of our success and drives us forward,” she said.
In March 2025, Cavco aligned its extensive manufacturing brand lineup under the Cavco name, strengthening its national brand identity and recognition. This repositioning leverages the resources, experience, and vision of the Cavco brand with the unique, local expertise and reputation of the regional manufacturing facilities.
Additionally, the company is streamlining its product segmentation to maximize digital marketing effectiveness and simplify the homebuying process. Moving forward, homes will be identif ied by defined product lines rather than legacy brand names. This shift ensures prospective homebuyers, dealers, communities, and developers can more easily find the right Cavco-built affordable home that meets their needs.
“With Cavco’s growth and our focus on the customer experience, the time is right to rethink how we can improve the customer’s ability to quickly focus their home search,” Boor said. “This realignment to a single brand that focuses on product characteristics will transform how we go to market across our national manufacturing operation, leveraging our investment in digital marketing, and opening new national marketing opportunities. It’s a big win for Cavco, our retail partners, and most importantly, our homebuyers.”
The VA Group is representative of a small subset of potential service sector contractors available to help home sales organizations and many other critical business groups to be more productive and profitable.
Based in Las Vegas, but with a workforce from abroad, the VA Group provides virtual assistants who use AI, among many other tools, to speed up everyday workflow.
“Most of our team members are in the Philippines and South Africa, but we also have virtual assistants from Venezuela, Argentina, and many other countries,” Erika Carla, a member of the VA Group team said. “They are vetted and undergo screenings, including English proficiency tests, criminal background checks, and skill set matching.”
The benefit of a qualified VA, Carla said, is the flexibility. A VA can work during the client’s work hours for better communication, and during flex hours as needed.
Carla said entering a contract with the VA Group covers a lot of ground, but requires a 20-hour per week commitment.
“Our minimum is 20 hours a week because we give our qualified VAs job security at that rate,” she said.
Virtual assistants from the VA Group can do administrative work, including calendaring, scheduling, followups, incoming and outgoing phone calls, emails, and prioritization of tasks including internal communication, research, records maintenance, and database management.
But that’s just the starting point.
In client prospecting, a VA from the group will make as many as 300 cold calls per day, and 5,000 emails per week. The group can provide CRM database management or a dedicated campaign manager.
They also do brand strategy, design, and accounting.
VAs for Housing Professionals
Anequim has been operating in the manufactured housing industry for nearly two years now, and provides customizable workforce solutions for organizations that need a strategic partner.
“Anequim delivers fully customizable workforce solutions tailored to each client’s needs while prioritizing compliance, efficiency, and long-term growth,” Anequim CEO Gwen Aspen said.
Through an integration with Rent Manager, Anequim offers a 24/7 call center, and a back-office support team without having to commit to a full-time employee.
The company, based in Omaha, Nebraska and with a workforce largely in Mexico, provides a vetting process that puts the client in control. The workforce provides human resources, payroll, and compliance services, as well as account management with a growth mindset.
Anequim Chief Marketing Officer Nicole Zeno said their workforce is made available long-term successfully with no significant initial investments.
“Anequim’s success is tied to the ongoing success of our clients, making the partnership truly sustainable,” she said.
Rocket Station, another provider, makes available virtual assistants with a focus on housing, including in areas of property management.
Ira Gayatin, business development lead with Rocket Station, said the relationship with a client starts with interviews and several weeks of onboarding to help align the team and its tools toward the desired outcomes.
“This is where custom solutions would kick in,” Gayatin said. “Our VAs get soft skills and housing training for computer and phone work, sales, customer service, transaction coordination, and social media management.”
“As long as we can document the whole process, the VA can do it,” he said.
A client offers search qualifications — such as capability with a particular technology, years of professional experience, or by a personality trait indicator. From their immediate roster of 500 candidates, or the wider field of 1,800, Rocket Station provides three or four potential VAs for the client to meet and interview.
The business is based in Dallas and much of its workforce is in the Philippines.
A virtual assistant from Rocket Station can be hired for $13 per hour for part time, 20 hours per week, or for $11 per hour for 40 hours, including weekend hours.
There is a one-time implementation fee of $1,995.
Remote Staffing for Real Estate Investment
Gallagher and Mohan specializes in outsourcing for the real estate investment industry, with experience in the major asset classes.
“We have offices in Washington D.C., Atlanta, and New Delhi, India,” Gallagher and Mohan representative Marko Simic said. “We have 250-plus employees and work with more than 120 real estate clients across the United States and Europe.
“There are many ways we can work together,” Simic said. “Our clients use our service to scale and streamline their underwriting, asset management, investor reporting, market research, lease administrator and accounting processes.
The agency has multifamily financial analysts, asset management analysts and accountants that focus client needs. The remote staff works through Teams, for instance, and can engage with a client and their customers in support of efforts within property management software and solutions including Yardi, AppFolio, MRI, Sage, Procure, Entrata, and others.
Simic said his team has partnered with more than 100 real estate firms, including LaSalle, CBRE, Marcus & Millichap, Palatine Capital Partners, and The Milestone Group.
Andrew Hughes was confirmed as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in June by a Senate vote of 51-43.
Hughes will serve as HUD’s chief operating officer, working under the leadership of the Trump administration and Secretary Scott Turner to restore HUD to its core mission of fostering strong communities that support quality, affordable homeownership opportunities and promoting economic development and self-sufficiency for all Americans.
“Andrew Hughes is a servant leader and is the right person, at the right time for this assignment to carry out HUD’s mission,” said HUD Secretary Scott Turner. “I had the pleasure of serving alongside him during the first Trump administration and witnessed firsthand his leadership, wisdom, and love for this country. We share a clear vision for HUD’s future, and it is truly a blessing to have him in this role. He will serve the American people well.”
As deputy secretary, Hughes will play a vital role in implementing HUD’s mission and managing the day-to-day operations of the department. His nomination was endorsed by former HUD Secretary Ben Carson, Senator Tim Scott, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and numerous housing and community development organizations.
“Serving at HUD is more than a job — it’s a calling,” Hughes said. “I’m humbled to help lead an agency that expands opportunity for all communities — rural, tribal, and urban. Together, under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Turner, we’re focused on ensuring more Americans can achieve not just housing, but the stability, self-sufficiency, and upward mobility that define the American Dream.”
Hughes has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on April 10, 2025 in regard to his nomination. He previously worked on Carson’s campaign for president in 2016, served as HUD’s liaison to the White House during the first Trump administration, and later as HUD chief of staff under Carson, and most recently served as chief of staff for Secretary Turner. Hughes, not yet 40 years old, is the youngest deputy secretary in HUD’s history.
The back porch entertaining area in a new Franklin home, on exhibit at The Louisville Manufactured Housing Show.
The Ins and Outs of Entertaining Outside
Suzanne Felber, The Lifestylist
At the recent Design and Construction Week in Las Vegas, it was obvious that outdoor living is becoming an important focus for new home buyers. Knowing that a home has room to entertain and enjoy the great outdoors, as well as under-roof enclosed living spaces, is becoming a big consideration when looking for a new home.
This year, Design and Construction Week had over 124,000 attendees, 2,500 exhibitors, and over 1.2 million square feet of exhibits. That ended up being a lot of walking, but it was also a wonderful opportunity to view and learn about what trends we will be seeing in 2025 and beyond.
The lines are blurring between outdoor and indoor living spaces. Both Champion and Cavco had two homes at the show, and they both received much attention. Cavco brought two 400-square-foot park models, including one with a rooftop observation deck that was always busy. A covered porch on the front of the home made it feel much more significant than its square footage. The Champion home had a front porch that lent itself to entertaining. Both homes featured a lot of glass with large doors that open to the outside areas.
One of the new trends in outdoor living that we noticed was innovations in grills and outdoor fireplaces. Smeg has a new line of electric grills, making it possible to use them almost anywhere. There are now many options for outdoor fireplaces that use electricity and are also a heat source for those colder days.
Communities also realize that outdoor living areas add lifestyle and value to a property like never before. It is also easier to live in a smaller space when there are community areas to enjoy.
The Reserve at Flores Valley is a new neighborhood community near San Antonio that encourages active, involved residents. Cavco’s In Neighborhood division, Clayton Homes, and Champion Homes all have new homes for sale in the community. The Reserve at Flores Valley features an enclosed soccer field, dog park, beautiful pool, and picnic pavilion complete with grills, which residents can enjoy all year long.
Fire pits are also a great addition to any outdoor space. They can be fueled with propane or firewood and use stones, lava rocks, ceramic logs, or even glass.
These create a great space to gather with friends or family. It’s also the perfect place to watch the sun come up with warm cup of coffee.
Pizza ovens are also becoming a favorite outdoor cooking spot. They range in price from $100 to thousands of dollars and are about more than just cooking pizzas. The clay and brick forms of these have been used for over 4,000 years and are ideal ways to roast vegetables, bake focaccia bread, create a cheesecake, or even make Bananas Foster!
The Louisville Manufactured Housing Show also featured innovative ideas for including outdoor living spaces in our homes. With consumers’ renewed interest in investing more in outdoor living spaces, Franklin Homes had a model with a covered porch area complete with a built-in bar, sink, and refrigerator. There is also an additional seating area with a stone fireplace and TV above — the perfect fall place to watch those college football games.
The Cavco Millenian model at Louisville also was built for outdoor entertaining. Its kitchen has a hydraulic lift window that opens to the outdoor entertaining space, which also has a large television and fireplace. The window makes it ideal for passing beverages or appetizers.
Outdoor kitchens are becoming more popular, with built-in appliances like beverage drawers and ice makers. All-weather cabinetry is now available in hundreds of colors and styles, making it easy to customize your space to your lifestyle.
As these options become more popular, the pricing seems to be improving, too, and favorites like pizza ovens are now within reach of everyone. I can’t wait to see what our manufacturers have in store for us in 2025.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner, at right-center, is guided through the three homes set up by Champion at MHI's Congress and Expo in Orlando May 5. Photo courtesy of MHI/Shawn Pence.
In mid-May, executives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development toured a Champion Homes facility and sales center in Leola, Pennsylvania.
HUD Assistant Deputy Secretary and regional administrator Joseph DeFelice and HUD Office of Housing Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Frank Cassidy toured the manufacturing facility to experience “firsthand the efficiency and quality of our construction process,” Champion Homes President and CEO Tim Larson said.
“These visits reflect HUD’s growing support in addressing the nation’s affordable housing shortage with offsite construction,” Larson added.
The group in Pennsylvania, on May 8, toured two of Champion’s newer single-family manufactured home models, the Embrace Sunlight and the Embrace Calm.
Attendees were able to see where the homes are built, showcasing the streamlined, efficient process that standard home building challenges, including delays and inconsistencies that come from multiple work crews involved in varying phases. Working in a factory allows for greater quality control, consistency, and speed, with each step integrated from start to finish.
Streamlining and coordinating the workforce in a centralized location helps to address increasing labor cost and shortage trends in the construction industry, while providing skilled labor a year-round workplace that’s sheltered from the elements.
“The excitement around our housing solution was evident as the group toured the facility and walked through our homes,” Champion Homes Regional Vice President David Reed said.
By transforming how we approach housing production, communities can create immediate, meaningful progress in addressing critical housing shortages
By Ryan Kilpatrick
Ryan Kilpatrick, Flywheel Companies
The housing crisis isn’t just a statistic — it’s a deeply human challenge that touches every corner of our nation and requires solutions now. Most markets are dramatically under-producing housing, falling short by a staggering three to five times the number of homes needed to support the growing number of households in a region.
Talk to local builders or lenders, and you’ll hear a familiar refrain of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Skilled trades are stretched thin. Financing options are limited. Developable land that is properly zoned is scarce. The entire ecosystem appears to be operating at maximum capacity, leaving little room for growth.
Beyond Roadblocks: A Practical Vision for Change
Creating a healthy housing ecosystem isn’t about waiting for perfect solutions — it means creating immediate, meaningful progress with an attitude of continuous improvement over time. And let’s be clear, no one can afford to wait years for systemic change.
Right now, local businesses are trying to hire. School districts are seeking educators. Young professionals are launching their careers. Seniors are struggling to maintain their independence.
To those who are close to the industry, it seems like the perfect moment in time to transition to more off-site construction where labor supply and environmental factors are less volatile, yet many local communities are nervous about adjusting permitting frameworks to accommodate off-site housing production.
The key is to start small, but think strategically.
Create Tangible Momentum
Cities and towns rarely mobilize around abstract concepts, but they can rally around concrete, visible progress. If you’re in an area that is just beginning to consider the potential for off-site construction, try a small number of simple but potentially inspiring starting points:
• Build a pocket neighborhood for year-round residents on a previously overlooked parcel. A small neighborhood of six to 12 quaint cottage homes clustered around a common green space with smart landscaping and parking tucked in the rear. It could be a quick win for a locale that is housing challenged. It also can become a great prototype for the local permitting office to get accustomed to the housing type and installation process.
Greenspur’s Bentonville, Arkansas, pocket neighborhood was built using SIP panels.
• Rehabilitate an underutilized mobile home park with new manufactured homes, improved infrastructure, and community amenities. While getting a vacant parcel of land zoned to allow for new manufactured housing can be difficult in many places, there are hundreds of older communities that could use attention. These can be excellent opportunities for site cleanup, better landscaping, and new homes to reset the local community’s understanding and acceptance of this type of housing.
The City of Los Angeles has supported more than 5,000 new ADUs in just the last five years.
• Partner with a handful of homeowners in a specific neighborhood to provide backyard cottages or accessory dwelling units. Work out the financing with three to five homeowners in a local neighborhood to ensure they will achieve a positive return on investment from rental income or savings that stem from caring for an aging loved one at home rather than paying for assisted living. Then quickly install all five backyard cottages over the course of a few weeks and host a neighborhood block party and open house so that the whole community can walk through these new units and hear from the homeowners about why they made the choice to add a modular unit, for instance, to their property.
These aren’t just housing projects — they’re transformation initiatives for local governments and the communities they serve. Use them as opportunities to communicate broader housing needs and to show how off-site production can help to support meaningful and positive changes in their own communities. Start small, then scale. And talk about it incessantly.
More Than Construction: A Learning Opportunity
Each housing initiative is a chance to do two critical things simultaneously:
1. Create Housing: Address immediate needs for housing at a variety of price points
2. Build Community Understanding: Illuminate the broader context of housing needs and common barriers to housing where broader solutions are needed.
In your communication materials, you’ll want to ask and answer the crucial questions:
• Who will be served by this housing?
• Why are these residents important to our community?
• How many others share similar housing challenges?
• What would it take to scale this solution? What are the barriers in the way of doing more of these projects?
• Who can help in the community and how can they get engaged?
Turn Barriers into Opportunities
You’ll inevitably still encounter obstacles — overly restrictive parking requirements, the building department isn’t communicating well with the planning department, utility connection fees aren’t what you were told they would be, or a couple of neighbors simply don’t want to see any changes on that vacant lot. But here’s the revolutionary approach: view each barrier as a communication opportunity.
Use these barriers to educate the local residents and stakeholders about how this difficult process is indicative of the broader regional housing shortage. Build a broader understanding of how each piece of the process, no matter how seemingly small, is impacting the area’s ability to grow. And create alliances for systemic change. Don’t ever miss an opportunity to align your goals and objectives with those of another influential organization or person.
These initiatives will feel endlessly frustrating. But if you toil for months (or years) on one project and view all the problems as things you never want to face again, what was the point of the exercise? Instead, view all of those obstacles as the things to lean into the hardest.
The obstacle is the way.
The Path Forward: Intentionality as the Greatest Tool
Housing isn’t just about buildings. It’s about people. It’s about creating spaces where individuals and families can thrive, where communities can grow, and where potential can be realized.
Transformation doesn’t happen by accident. It requires delib- erate, strategic action — a commitment that goes far beyond a single project or isolated effort. Each housing initiative is a potential blueprint, a learning opportunity that could inspire hundreds or even thousands of similar developments. But this potential can only be unlocked through intentional, transparent communication, and rigorous problem-solving.
The Anatomy of Sustainable Change
Every project will face challenges, and some will be systemic — deeply rooted in outdated regulations or complex economic constraints. Others will be more immediate and practical: poor planning, project management hurdles, neighborhood dynamics, or resource misalignments. The true measure of a small government’s resilience isn’t the absence of these challenges, but its collective ability to:
• Recognize obstacles transparently
• Document and share lessons learned
• Develop adaptive strategies
• Build a network of support and knowledge exchange
Community as Collective Problem-Solver
The most powerful resource in addressing housing challenges isn’t money or policy — it’s collective will.
By starting small, staying persistent, and maintaining a com- passionate, strategic approach, we can transform our housing ecosystems — one initiative, and one conversation at a time. But this transformation demands more than good intentions. It requires unwavering commitment, political will, and a shared vision of community well-being.
Our housing future isn’t predetermined. It’s carefully, intentionally crafted — by us, for us, with every challenge we face and every solution we implement.
Ryan Kilpatrick, owner of Flywheel Companies, has a background in economic development, housing finance, community design, and development finance. He is the former executive director Housing Next, where he helped to define access to housing as a core economic development issue for West Michigan through data-oriented dialogue and partnership with employers, local municipalities, chambers of commerce, and developers. He is certified professional with the American Planning Association and the National Development Council’s Economic Development Finance Professional, and is co-author of the Michigan Statewide Zoning Reform Toolkit.
The Riverwalk from Skyline® Homes in Sugarcreek, Ohio, won the Manufactured Home Design – CrossMod® category. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,300-square-foot home is built to CrossMod® standards and is a U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home, a high-performance home with a renewable energy system that can offset most or all the home's annual energy use. Photo courtesy of Skyline.
The Manufactured Housing Institute each year celebrates the industry’s successes during the previous 12 months with the MHI Excellence in Manufactured Housing Awards. The program honors professionals in manufactured and modular housing who “continue to pave the way to success by providing outstanding products, customer service, creative solutions, and state-of-the-art homes,” MHI said in its awards release.
“The winners of this year’s MHI Excellence in Manufactured Housing Awards exemplify the determination, commitment and innovative approach that defines our members and industry,” MHI President Mark Bowersox said.
2025 Excellence in Manufactured Housing Awards
Manufacturers of the Year
Clayton Home Building Group: Volume Manufacturer of the Year
Adventure Homes: Small Volume Manufacturer of the Year — Three Plants or Fewer
Retail Sales Centers of the Year
Oakwood Homes, Fletcher, N.C.: Retail Sales Center of the Year — East
Adventure Homes: Retail Sales Center of the Year — West
“We are honored to receive two of the top MHI national awards,” Flagship President and CEO Kurt Keeney said. “These awards recognize our unwavering commitment to providing both a high quality and affordable living experience for our residents. Our sincere thanks to the Manufactured Housing Institute for honoring the important work done by its member companies to enhance communities and support working families nationwide.”
Ocean View by Sun Communities, Inc.: Land-Lease Community of the Year — East
Willow Crossing by Sun Communities, Inc.: Land-Lease Community of the Year — West
Yale Realty & Capital Advisors: Manufactured Home Community Lender/Broker of the Year
Design Awards
The Ravenwood by Champion Homes/Regional Builders Group: Manufactured Home Design — Multi-Section
The Ravenwood from Regional Builders Group™ in Winston, Alabama won the Manufactured Home Design – Multi-Section category. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom, 2,216-square-foot home features a set of large exterior doors that open to reveal a bonus room, bringing outdoor living inside. This space is perfect for entertaining, with bar seating, a wood-burning stove, and a large back porch.
“Champion Homes has an incredible team and an outstanding portfolio of brands and products,” Champion Homes President and CEO Tim Larson said. “We’re thrilled to receive industry recognition by winning the MHI Excellence in Manufactured Housing Award for the 11th year in a row. It shows our dedication to providing our customers with high-quality, beautifully designed homes that are attainable and provide great value.”
The Tiffany J76K by American Homestar Corporation/ Oak Creek Homes: Manufactured Home Design — Single Section
“Being recognized again for The Tiffany shows how listening to our homeowners drives better design,” Oak Creek Homes CEO Dwayne Teeter said. “We’re proud that both of our single-section and multi-section homes meet today’s real-world needs in affordability, comfort, quality, and energy efficiency.”
The Yellowstone by Adventure Homes: Modular Housing Design Award
The Riverwalk by Champion Homes: Manufactured Home Design — CrossMod®
Aareas Interactive helps builders, retailers sell homes.
If a customer on the West Coast was interested in a new home on the Gulf Coast, how might that transaction go? How pricey would it be, how long would it take?
Frank Guido, Andrew Lett and team, with Aareas Interactive, have some burgeoning ideas about the experience that customers receive.
The experience provides a realist rendering of a home, neighborhood, or community of interest to the customer,” Guido said. “It gives an automated tour or allows the user to conduct a virtual tour at their own pace.
“During the tour, the customer can swap out finishes, materials, color schemes, and even turn the clock or change the season to see how the light of day and afternoon shadows affect the look of the home inside and out,” he said.
And it’s all very photorealistic.
The software’s user can test the same home or different home designs within a development or community as it would appear adjacent the tennis courts, alongside the general store, or on a wooded lot.
“Someone can make choices from California about how they might place a home in a community in Louisiana,” Lett said.
It’s customized purchasing, with mind toward the end user, the homebuyer, and that single person’s unique place in the market.
The founders have a background in the industry, having worked with Oakwood Homes before it was purchased by Clayton, before Clayton was a Berkshire Hathaway company.
Like many other organizations in the off-site built space, Aareas Interactive took a hiatus and focused on other asset classes — single-family homes and condos — when the manufactured housing industry was down.
They returned with enhanced technology about two years ago.
“At that time it was a sales office and the following year we had everything online,” Lett said.
The Toronto-based company and its partners, in late 2024, were honored with the Gold Muse Award and the Silver Muse Award, which recognize excellence in design, innovation, and creativity across various industries worldwide. There were more than 17,200 entrants competing for the prize.
“These accolades showcase our steadfast commitment to innovation in design, technology, and customer experience,” Guido said. “Our projects reimagine the home design and purchasing journey by integrating cutting-edge virtual reality and immersive technologies, enabling our clients to offer their customers highly engaging and interactive buying experiences.”
Working with Builders
Aareas in recent years has been working with builders at the corporate and plant level to log their homes and floorpans. All the new functionality is applied to geography, within a development, and with considerations for home dimensions in relation to a particular lot size and local rules.
“Again, you can tour at your own speed or you can do an auto-tour,” Lett said.
Guido said Aareas allows a home seller to have 10 home designs open for tours in a community, and at an active, in-person sales center where the customer could run through home options and design choices, but also be able to take that experience home with them and continue to work toward the precise design that they desire.
“The customer can completely configure the experience any way they want,” Guido said.
Real Time Purchasing, Pricing
The program ties all of the customers’ needs together and avoids many of the common problems that arise during the standard sales experience, which speeds up the time to market. The home gets placed more quickly, the home seller moves to the next deal, and the new home owner is in place, exactly where they want to be… right down to the final detail.
“If the buyer has chosen a gas stove it won’t let you forget the gas line and it won’t let you buy a connection for an electric stove,” Guido said. “If you choose a three-hole sink it will automatically provide you a quote that includes hardware for a three-hole sink.”
Darryl Searer, in front of the Manufactured Housing Industry Museum in Elkhart.
The RV Veteran Raised Elkhart Institution from Ashes
More than 20 years ago the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart was drowning in debt, in need of new leadership, and was desperate for an update.
A longtime promoter of the RV industry stepped forward to take on the task, to raise the money, and turn the hall around. Darryl Searer, who retired from the role this year, took on the immense challenge for a salary of $1 per year.
There is a reason the hall named its annual Spirit Award after him.
“I am most proud of providing leadership at the Hall of Fame and seeing the MH and RV industries step up and support the vision of the future that we established in 2016,” Searer said.
Through his vision and leadership over the course of more than eight years the hall expanded operations, and during the 2019 induction dinner Searer announced that the organization had paid its debt and was operating in the black.
“I’ve never been more excited to give this address,” Searer told the more than 400 attendees.
In the years since, the hall has opened a new 21,000 square-foot Manufactured Housing Museum and added a 36,000 square-foot event space to the convention center.
Searer was at the helm to keep the place afloat and all projects on course during the pandemic when the industry and all else was unable to have large gatherings.
Facilities at the Hall of Fame now include:
• An RV Museum displaying a rare historical collection portraying RV’s role in family fun, exploring nature and sightseeing.
• The Scoular Manufactured Housing Museum showcasing the industry’s involvement in providing the dream of home ownership to millions of people.
• Hall of Fame inductee recognition areas, gift shop, and a theatre.
• A library with archives of industry history and data.
• More than 78,000 square feet of convention, meeting, and exhibit space.
• A 21,000 square foot, year-round pavilion.
• Beautiful grounds and a convenient location on a major interstate highway.
Leo Poggione, a longtime Nevada-based retailer who volunteers his time with the hall as well as other leading industry organizations, said Searer in his nearly 12 years of service has been instrumental in this growth.
“As many are aware, Darryl very generously donated these services,” Poggione said. “It is my belief that the RV and MH Industries, as a whole, have no idea how much time and effort Darryl provided and the Hall of Fame would likely not exist today if it were not for Darryl.”
The RV/MH Hall of Fame in recent years has welcomed about 15,000 guests annually.
In addition to his service at the hall, Searer has served more than 20 years on the RVIA Public Relations Committee, as president of the RV Aftermarket Association, and as a vital member of the Go RVing Coalition.
Barry Cole, a member of the hall and its chairman emeritus, understood Searer’s passion for the institution. Searer, he said, had served the hall in the past, and returned “working night and day without pay.”
“Look at what happened,” Cole said. “Darryl resurrected the Hall, with the assistance of the board, and created an incredible, beautiful museum with a huge convention facility. Darryl’s results are clear as he is a true hero to the RV and Manufactured Housing Industries.”
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