MH Digest

Almost all counties in Georgia have used zoning laws to severely restrict the creation of what we all remember as trailer parks. But today’s manufactured homes are nearly indistinguishable from site-built homes, yet they cost only half as much to build.
The savings come primarily from economies of scale and the elimination of waste in a computer-designed manufacturing environment that can operate 24/7 every day. Today’s manufactured homes are well-built, highly energy efficient, and designed to last a lifetime when properly maintained.

Advocates for the measure say they believe the law could reduce the stigma associated with manufactured and mobile homes and allow more Mainers to achieve homeownership for the first time.

State Rep. Dick Bradstreet, R-Vassalboro said he believes the law will create more affordable options for more people.

“It’s the quickest way for people to bring about personal wealth, build up equity in their homes,” said Bradstreet, who also serves on the Legislature’s Housing Committee. “But if they can’t get into a home, there’s no chance of building up equity. This will give people a chance to do that.”

America faces a longstanding and nationwide shortfall in affordable housing that has been growing for decades. In May 2022, the Biden Administration released a Housing Supply Action Plan that included administrative and legislative actions to close the housing supply shortfall in five years.
The Administration plans to explore amending the chassis requirement to provide manufactured homebuilders with more design flexibility that: make it easier to build and preserve affordable, multifamily housing; advance the production and preservation of homes like accessory dwelling units and manufactured housing; and incentivize state and local governments to reduce barriers to affordable housing development.

“Requests for manufactured housing are probably the most requests we get for new construction,” City Planner Connor LaVelle said.
Manufactured houses are generally less expensive than traditional site-built structures, LaVelle said. Making it easier to build them in the city is seen by officials as a way to address the area’s housing shortage and provide more opportunities for people to build on lots where the city’s Urban Renewal Authority has demolished dilapidated structures.
“They’re a lot safer, a lot better-built homes,” he said.

Maine Rep. Cheryl Golek, proposed a bill that would amend local zoning laws to allow manufactured homes on single-family lots, a practice that is currently restricted in many communities.
“There is an antiquated stigma against mobile homes that has infected people’s perceptions of manufactured housing,” Rep. Cheryl Golek testified before the Joint Select Committee on Housing Tuesday.
“Because manufactured housing appreciates at roughly the same rate as site-built housing when sited on owned land, purchasing a manufactured home not only provides housing stability to the purchaser but also an opportunity to build wealth.”

Even if you and your partner each work two jobs, the reality is you still might not be able to afford a house on Long Island.
“A young family or a young couple can basically get a starter home,” said real estate agent Dolores Peterson, who often handles manufactured-home sales in Suffolk County. “They’re able to save up money living in an inexpensive home with inexpensive taxes”
The value of manufactured homes on Long Island and many other areas nationwide now generally go up. Manufactured homes in the U.S. appreciated at nearly the same rate as site-built homes. The median value for a manufactured home in that period increased 34.58%, with traditional houses increasing 35.44%.

Based on average incomes, many Americans can only afford to pay around $225,000 for a house. But the median house now costs more than $430,000, and newly built homes cost even more.
Compared to conventional houses with the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms and similar finishes, manufactured homes are far less expensive. The most expensive manufactured home costs more than a quarter less than a comparable site-built house.
Right now, manufactured homes make up only a tiny percentage of new housing units built each year, but that could begin to change with new options for financing. Fannie Mae now offers standard mortgages for higher-end manufactured homes, something that buyers couldn’t get in the past.

The Kentucky League of Cities (KLC) conference is occurring in Lexington. It brings cities across Kentucky together, connecting them with services and finding potential solutions to issues facing their respective municipality.
One of those issues is lack of affordable housing. At the conference, city stakeholders from across the Commonwealth could view a manufactured model home. Those homes could be completed within a matter of days, rather than months.
“You have the same person that does trim work every day; that’s their job. You have the same person that frames this wall; that’s their job — and so just the efficiency of the building,” Logan Hanes, KMHI.

Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran recently showed off her new L.A. manufactured home on TikTok. The open floor plan places the dining area next to the cozy living room. The white couch against the white walls creates a sleek but beachy look, while the round wood table ties the space in with the rest of the home. “I think I like this more than the New York City home,” Corcoran said.

Jackson, Mississippi – The average household income for a family of four in Jackson is $50,000 to $60,000 a year. Chloe Dotson, City Director of Planning and Development, said they want to build a home where the average family can be an owner.
“The customizable model home we are showing you today is roughly 1,300-square feet, three bedroom, two bath with an appliance package, a kitchen island and a front porch. The offsite build price is about $129,000,” said Dotson.