At Clayton, our purpose has always been to open doors to homeownership for more people. And at a time when owning a home can feel out of reach for many, we continue our commitment to focus on innovative ways to offer more affordable options for customers.

In 2018, we worked with other leaders in the housing industry to develop a new home category, called CrossMod homes. These homes combine the scale and efficiency of off-site construction with site-built features, resulting in a home that looks, performs and appraises the same as a traditional site-built home.

When the program began, CrossMod homes were limited to multi-section floor plans, but that left a real need for single-section CrossMod homes that would be available at a lower price point and fit on smaller lots. In the summer of 2025, Freddie Mac® and Fannie Mae® announced they expanded their existing conventional financing options to include those single-section CrossMod homes, expanding access to this attainable housing solution and helping reach an underserved segment of the housing market.

Housing options that use off-site construction, like CrossMod homes, can be efficiently built in larger numbers and help increase the overall supply of available new homes across the country. The energy-efficient features of the homes also help cut energy costs and make homeownership more affordable in the long term.

What are CrossMod homes?

CrossMod homes are built to HUD code and, at Clayton, feature:

• Permanent foundations
• Elevated roof pitches
• Covered porches
• Garages
• All wood cabinets
• All drywall interiors
• Energy-efficient features and more

Currently, Clayton offers several multi-section CrossMod home models that range between 1,620 and 1,770 sq. ft., with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Clayton’s floor plan, the Cypress, which was recently unveiled at the Innovative Housing Showcase as the nation’s first official single-section CrossMod home, has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and is just under 1,000 sq. ft.

Financing and appraisals for CrossMod homes

One of the main benefits of CrossMod homes is that they qualify for traditional 30-year financing, similar to traditional site-built homes, which can give buyers more financing options to choose from.

In addition, CrossMod homes appraise the same as site-built homes using CrossMod or site-built comparisons, which is key to creating a financial foundation that gives homeowners the opportunity to build wealth in the future. In fact, a 2024 study from the Federal Housing Finance Agency showed modern manufactured home properties, like CrossMod homes, are proven to gain in value year over year. Since 2020, they have appreciated at a rate on par with site-built homes.

Attainable homes, including energy-efficient features

Due to Clayton’s efficient building process, our CrossMod homes can also offer more affordable price points than many site-built homes currently on the market.

For example, the new Harvest Meadow neighborhood in Knoxville, TN, has prices starting in the low $300,000s. And in most markets, a single-section CrossMod home could cost around $200,000, including land costs.

A lower initial home price can mean more affordable mortgage payments for today’s home buyers, but we also know that’s only part of the costs they’re considering. Clayton homes have energy-efficient features like increased insulation, low-E windows, smart thermostats and LED lighting that are designed to help homeowners save energy and money on their energy bills so they can feel more confident about the long-term costs associated with owning a home.

Flexible housing options

Clayton seeks to offer solutions to the ongoing challenges of affordable housing by ensuring the homes we build are designed to meet a variety of needs. The smaller footprint of single-section CrossMod homes and their front-loaded design make them ideal for narrow lots, including as urban infill or in existing housing developments. This can open opportunities for urban, suburban or rural home buyers and help create more zoning possibilities for modern manufactured homes.

One example is the new Blue Haven neighborhood in Avery County, North Carolina, which is currently in progress and will be the first neighborhood to combine both multi-section and single-section CrossMod homes. The homes are being built by Clayton as a part of an initiative to help the area recover from Hurricane Helene, led by the nonprofit organization Chief Cares.

“Today’s typical American family striving to become homeowners faces many hurdles and often waits longer to purchase their first home,” said Kevin Clayton, CEO. “For all U.S. households, that means about 75% are unable to afford a median-priced new home¹. We are thrilled single-section CrossMod homes will now offer attainable homeownership solutions for a wider range of budget and lifestyle needs.”

Homeownership is key to building financial stability and generational wealth, which ultimately fosters thriving communities and economic growth. This is why we’re dedicated to providing attainably priced and energy-efficient homes through our innovative, sustainable building practices.

CrossMod is a registered certification mark of the Manufactured Housing Institute. Fannie Mae is the registered trademark of the Federal National Mortgage Association and Freddie Mac is the registered trademark of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.

¹NAHB February 2025 Special Study for Housing Economics

Learn more about Clayton's social responsibility efforts at claytonhomes.com/social-responsibility