MHMSM.com presents Factory Built Housing Industry News at Noon with Erin Patla.
We begin with these stories:
Buffet Says Employment Improving, Housing to Lag
Experts say one of the biggest barriers to economic recovery in the U.S. is employment, and Fortune magazine contributor Ben Stein recently asked Warren Buffett when hiring will start to pick up.”When demand picks up,” Buffett responds. “We don’t hire because we get a tax break or because someone in the government tells us to. We hire when there’s more demand for what we are making or moving or selling. It’s that simple.” While there’s some promising movement on the employment front, housing recovery, Buffett says, is still a ways in the future.
Housing Starts Up, Permits Decline
On the housing front, U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke released figures Tuesday showing an increase in housing starts of .3 percent in September. Permits for new housing units, however, declined 5.6 percent compared with a small expected increase by private-sector forecasters. “A sustained upturn in housing activity requires stronger growth in jobs and income, but home builders have made progress that will help solidify future growth in housing starts,” Locke says. “The efforts of President Obama and this administration remain tightly focused on ensuring that the jobs market continues to recover and our economy continues to grow.”
Flagstaff Home Prices Faltering, Still Below $300K
The Arizona Daily Sun reports that the median price of a detached, single-family home sold in the greater Flagstaff area last month continued to hover below $300,000.
In September, the median sales price was $283,200, the fifth month of the last six that median prices in Flagstaff have come in under the $300,000 threshold. It represents a nearly 10 percent drop in price from September 2009’s median price. Jim Snook, a Realtor with Dallas Real Estate, told the paper the median price for total housing sales in September – which include town homes, condos and manufactured homes – is closer to $250,000, and with that silver lining in mind, giving a boost to the market in terms of affordability.
Manufactured Housing in the News…
RVs Irk MH Community Residents
Also from the Grand Canyon state, the Arizona Republic reports that RVs at two Peoria senior communities are upsetting residents there. Dozens of other residents of two 1970s communities are furious with property owner Equity LifeStyle Properties for allowing recreational vehicles on both properties without a required city permit. The city has sited the company for violating the code. An attorney representing Equity LifeStyles told the reporter the company is working with the residents to come up with a solution as well as applying for a permit.
“More News continues…”
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Now, back to our stories.
Pennsylvania Gets It!
From the Keystone State, Governor Ed Rendell has signed legislation that amends the “Mobile Home Park Rights Act” by renaming it the “Manufactured Home Community Rights Act” and makes conforming and technical amendments throughout the act. The bill provides that a person who leases space in a manufactured home community shall be provided with a written copy of the rules and regulations of the community and clarifies that leases for such space shall be in writing and shall be for a time period of one month unless a longer period is mutually agreed upon. Under the bill, disclosure of all fees payable to the community owner prior to leasing the property is required and provides notice requirements.
Factory Built Housing in the News…
MedCottage Helps Ailing Family Members Stay Near Home
Nurse.com recently ran a feature on medical cottages that allow loved ones who need long-term care to stay close to family members. A prototype of the first-ever modular medical home was unveiled in July in Virginia. The portable MedCottage modular medical home was designed to allow families to take care of loved ones on their property as an alternative to placing them in a long-term care facility. MedCottage is a product of N2Care.
In Business and Market News…
Equity LifeStyle Properties Announces Revenue Increase
Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELP) recently announced results for the quarter revealing Funds From Operations (FFO) were $32.7 million compared to $28.8 million for the same period in 2009. For the nine months ended September 30, FFO was $97.3 million compared to $90.4 million for the same period in 2009. For the quarter ended September 30, 2010, the company reported core property operating revenues increased approximately 1.8 percent and Core property operating expenses decreased approximately 0.1 percent, resulting in an increase of approximately 4.1 percent to income from Core property operations over the quarter ended September 30, 2009. For the quarter ended September 30, Equity LifeStyle Properties had 22 new home sales (including four third-party dealer sales), which represents a 42.1 percent decrease as compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2009. Gross revenues from home sales were $1.8 million for the quarter ended September 30 compared to $2.1 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2009. Equity LifeStyle Properties owns or has an interest in 307 quality properties in 27 states and British Columbia consisting of 110,984 sites. The Company is a self-administered, self-managed, real estate investment trust (REIT) with headquarters in Chicago.
MH Outperforms at Mid-Day
The web site Benzinga has pointed out manufactured housing was one of the top performing industries at mid-day Tuesday. The site notes manufactured housing jumped 2.37 percent by 10:24 am. The top stock within the industry was Skyline Corporation, which rose 3.61 percent. Other industries performing well include credit services, diversified investments and residential construction.
MH Industry Outperforms Broader Markets
Concern banks will be forced to buy back soured mortgages helped push the Dow lower Tuesday. The Dow was off 165 points and closed under the 11,000 mark. Manufactured housing stocks moved off mid-day highs, but performed somewhat better than the broader market. The manufactured housing composite value was .7 percent at the 4 p.m. market close. Skyline Corp was one of the better performers closing up 1.45 percent. Palm Harbor Homes and Equity Lifestyle Properties were also up.
“On behalf of Production and IT Manager Bob Stovall, Editor L.A. ‘Tony’ Kovach, Associate Editor Catherine Frenzel, INdustry in Focus reporter Eric Miller, and the entire MHMSM.com writing and support team, this is Erin Patla. G’day!”