The federal government enjoyed only a steady courtship of the manufactured home industry until HUD Secretary Ben Carson recently threw his full support behind the industry.

Secretary Carson's recent endorsement appears to have opened eyes and new markets for first-time homebuyers to embrace manufactured homes with confidence. Today's manufactured home sector delivers high-quality living spaces complete with luxury amenities at a fraction of the cost of their site-built counterparts.

But like any product, everyday people often wait for an industry expert to assure them the product ranks among the best possible options. The HUD chief has repeatedly articulated the cost-effective value of double and single wide mobile homes here in the U.S.

"HUD's mission is to ensure all Americans have access to safe, quality, and affordable housing. And we believe that manufactured housing has a promising role to play -- especially in the area of quality affordable housing," HUD Secretary Carson reportedly said. "For that reason, one year ago, I announced that HUD was in the position to usher in a 'new era of cooperation and collaboration between our Department and the manufactured housing industry.'"

The HUD chief has been on a mission to provide increased access to quality, energy-efficient affordable homes to Americans. His task has been challenging, to say the least. The country has been suffering from varying degrees of home shortages. With Millennials dominating site-built starter homes in recent years, listing prices are experiencing an unnatural uptick. Homebuyers ought to be wary about overpaying for these structures. Manufactured and mobile homes appear to be just the elixir HUD desired.

How Much are Modular Homes?Even a cursory glance at the cost differences between site-built homes and manufactured ones makes it obvious why the latter is trending. A reported 20 million Americans already enjoy these robust living spaces at a significantly reduced cost. According to reports, manufactured homes currently cost less than half of their site-built counterparts.

The HUD secretary recently cited data that pegged the average site-built home cost at $109 per square foot. By stunning contrast, manufactured and mobile homes average a modest $49 per square foot. But what truly distinguishes the manufactured sector is that the cost-friendly manufactured homes deliver the same type of luxury amenities as expensive site-built properties. In many cases, manufactured homeownership can be less costly than renting an apartment and position hard-working people for a rewarding financial future.

"And yet, even at this lower price, manufactured homes appreciate in value at a rate similar to site-built homes, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency Housing Price Index. Sustainable homeownership is the number one builder of financial capital for most American families," Secretary Carson reportedly said. "For example, the average net worth of a renter is $5,000, while the average net worth of a homeowner is $200,000. That's an extraordinary 40-fold difference. But with comparable home appreciation rates to site-built homes, manufactured homes exhibit their own extraordinary potential to be a wealth creation tool for ordinary, everyday American families."

The HUD leader also went on to note that the manufactured home industry currently employs more than 40,000 people at American facilities. This is a Made in USA product that delivers the American Dream of homeownership to low- and middle-income families that might otherwise squander their resources on high rents.

Manufactured & Mobile Home Deliveries Setting 10-Year RecordsMobile homes were once considered inferior products to site-built living spaces. That old-fashioned idea is a thing of the past, and these are not your grandparents' mobile homes. With federal agencies such as HUD fully supporting the purchase and sale of products such as double and single wides, new deliveries are far outpacing past years. Consider the growing trend according to numbers tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau.

• 2009: 49,800 Manufactured Home Deliveries
• 2010: 50,000 Manufactured Home Deliveries
• 2011: 51,600 Manufactured Home Deliveries
• 2012: 51,600 Manufactured Home Deliveries
• 2013: 60,200 Manufactured Home Deliveries
• 2014: 64,300 Manufactured Home Deliveries
• 2015: 70,500 Manufactured Home Deliveries
• 2016: 81,100 Manufactured Home Deliveries
• 2017: 92,900 Manufactured Home Deliveries
• 2018: 96,600 Manufactured Home Deliveries
• 2019: Manufactured Home Deliveries are Expected to Exceed 100,000!

The manufactured home industry had not topped the 100,000 marks since 2006, before the global financial crisis. In the last 10 years, new home deliveries have more than doubled.

The recognition that these living spaces are of the highest quality, but at a far lower listing price has spurred Americans who previously may have believed homeownership was out of reach to enjoy the American Dream. To say the cost-effective pricing of manufactured homes has been a game-changer for low- and middle-income families would be something of an understatement.

"I'm standing inside of a manufactured home right now -- it's a beautiful place," Secretary Carson reportedly said during a live TV interview. "(It) has a living room area, three bedrooms, a kitchen, a couple of bathrooms. And yet you know the cost of this is 30 to 40 percent less than a site-built home."

The federal agency leader continues to rank among the industries' most significant cheerleaders because manufactured homes are positively impacting the quality of life for families in communities across the nation.