Chart: Modular’s Market Share Continues to Decline

The total market share of non-site built single-family homes (modular and panelized) was just 2% of single-family homes in 2022, according to completion data from the Census Bureau Survey of Construction data and NAHB analysis. This share has been steadily declining since the early-2000s despite the high-level of interest for non-site built construction. This low market share in fact runs counter to some media commentary on off-site construction, which nonetheless holds potential for market share gains in the years ahead.

In 2022, there were 26,000 total single-family units built using modular (12,000) and panelized/pre-cut (14,000) construction methods, out of a total of 1.02 million single-family homes completed. While the market share is small, there exists potential for expansion. This 2% market share for 2022 represents a decline from years prior to the Great Recession. In 1998, 7% of single-family completions were modular (4%) or panelized (3%). This marked the largest share for the 1992-2022 period.

One notable regional concentration is found in the Northeast and Midwest. In the Northeast, 7% (3,000 homes) of the region’s 60,000 housing units were completed using non-site build construction methods, the highest share in the country. In the Midwest, 6% (7,000 homes) of the region’s 137,000 housing units were completed using non-site build construction methods.

With respect to multifamily construction, approximately 2% of multifamily buildings (properties, not units) were built using panelized methods. Similar to single-family construction, this market share was expected to grow, but the expected gains did not materialize due to various constraints in the industry. In the year 2000 and 2011, 5% of multifamily buildings were constructed with modular (1%) or panelized construction methods (4%).