New CrossMod® Neighborhood Opens in East Tennessee, Bringing More Attainable Homes to Individuals and Families

DANDRIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 14, 2022 – The affordable housing crisis in the U.S. over the last few years has been exacerbated by increased demand and lack of inventory. A new neighborhood in East Tennessee shows how a different construction process and builder/developer partnership offers a unique solution to increase affordable housing inventory.

The Cottages at Dandridge is a neighborhood of 18 Clayton Built® CrossMod® homes developed by Rocky Top Homes. CrossMod homes are built to HUD code and have site-built features. These features, which include a permanent foundation, elevated roof pitch, garage, and porch, allow CrossMod home buyers access to certain conventional financing programs. The result is a beautiful home and quicker, more efficient housing development. CrossMod homes by Clayton are built in a facility and are finished on-site, then primarily sold through real estate agents.

CrossMod homes are a viable solution to many of the needs with the current housing market, particularly when it comes to increasing affordable housing inventory. The average time to build a new site-built home is between 6-8 months.

That number rises to nearly 14.3 months for owner-built houses and falls to 6.7 months for build-for-sale homes. An entire Clayton CrossMod neighborhood, however, can be ordered, constructed and set up much faster. In the case of the Cottages at Dandridge, 10 homes have been finished in the past 10 months.

“We are dedicated to finding new processes to help open doors to a better life,” said Jake Wilson, Clayton director of national business development. “CrossMod homes offer us the opportunity to work with local developers, like Rocky Top Homes, to quickly provide more essential, affordable homes in neighborhoods and cities across the country.”

The home-building process began in a climate-controlled Clayton facility, where each home was constructed indoors, allowing for a more efficient build process. Once constructed, the homes were inspected and taken to the neighborhood where the developer, Rocky Top Homes, completed the land preparation and permanent installation process.

“When I first learned about CrossMod homes, I knew I wanted to be a part of building them,” said JP Parks, Rocky Top Homes President. “You can't tell a difference between these homes and ones built using traditional on-site methods, and they can be developed much quicker for families.”

Clayton’s CrossMod process creates a seamless relationship between Clayton and the developer, allowing developers, who may not have manufactured housing experience, to install and assemble CrossMod homes. This process aims to increase the number of homes in the market and ultimately add affordable housing inventory.

CrossMod homes offer today’s home buyers forward-thinking designs, energy-efficient features and high-end materials. Thanks to the success of the Dandridge neighborhood partnership, Rocky Top Homes plans to continue developing additional CrossMod developments in East Tennessee.

About Clayton
Founded in 1956, Clayton is committed to opening doors to a better life and building happyness® through homeownership. As a diverse builder committed to quality and durability, Clayton offers traditional site-built homes and off-site built housing – including modular homes, manufactured homes, CrossMod™ homes, tiny homes, college dormitories, military barracks and apartments. All Clayton Built® homes are proudly designed, engineered and assembled in America. In 2021, Clayton built 60,701 homes across the country. Clayton is a Berkshire Hathaway company. For more information, visit claytonhomes.com.

*CrossMod is a trademark of Manufactured Housing Institute.