The ProPublica headline item in Part I follows these framing quotes. “Nearly every US politician is talking about improving housing affordability, and most of them are looking intently for villains to blame for today’s high home prices. Despite rhetoric to the contrary, the price escalations in recent years have not been driven primarily by “speculators”…and there does not appear to be a bubble. Rather, there is a fundamental imbalance between housing supply and market demand, especially in the for-sale market.” So said Arica Young in a report on the Cato nonprofit website that is found at this link here that used the title “Unleashing Manufactured Housing.” According to her bio in brief: “Arica Young is an associate director at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. She is focused on the Underserved Mortgage Markets Coalition (UMMC) and the Innovations in Manufactured Homes (I’m HOME) Network, leading efforts to expand homeownership opportunities for households.”
“From around 1975 to the late ‘90s, the MH share of new single-family production averaged about 20%. It then dropped dramatically (for reasons beyond the scope of this paper) to average about 10% ever since.5 In response, MH supporters have repeatedly pushed for policies to grow MH so that it represents a larger share of new housing production. Despite this, MH has failed to break out of its approximately 10% share of new single-family construction for the last two decades.” So wrote Donald H. Layton for the Furman Center: ‘Manufactured Housing is a Good Source for Unsubsidized Affordable Housing’–‘Key Facts and Surprising Economic’ Research. Layton is no lightweight. He is the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Freddie Mac and the former Vice Chairman for giant JPMorgan Chase.
Note that the Lincoln Institute’s Arica Young said: “Despite rhetoric to the contrary, the price escalations in recent years have not been driven primarily by “speculators”…and there does not appear to be a bubble. Rather, there is a fundamental imbalance between housing supply and market demand, especially in the for-sale market.” That is a matter up for debate. The article below has been in our MHProNews pending file for some time, and this may be a good time to bring it forward. Why?
Because Congressional Democrats launched last week the “Monopoly Busters Caucus.” Joe Biden (D) talked about the issue below during his state of the union message which brought forward a housing “coalition” letter in response that included the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI).
With the basic facts-evidence-analysis points in mind, let’s pivot to the left-leaning ProPublica article below in a series that asserts: “Rent Barons: Who Is Behind Rising Rents in America?” More on the manufactured housing angle will be found in Part II.
Part I
Justice Department Sues Six of the Nation’s Largest Landlords in Effort to Stop Alleged Price-Fixing in Rental Markets
by Heather Vogell Jan. 9, 2025, 5 a.m. EST
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. …
Series: Rent Barons: Who Is Behind Rising Rents in America?
The Department of Justice on Tuesday sued six of the nation’s largest landlords, accusing them of using a pricing algorithm to improperly work together to raise rents across the country.
The lawsuit expands an antitrust complaint the department filed in August that accused property management software-maker RealPage of engaging in illegal price-fixing to reduce competition among landlords so prices — and profits — would soar. Officials conducted a two-year investigation into the scheme following a 2022 ProPublica story that showed how RealPage was helping landlords set rents across the country in a way that legal experts said could result in cartel-like behavior.
Together, the six landlords manage more than 1.3 million apartments in 43 states and the District of Columbia. Prosecutors have already negotiated a settlement with one of them.
“While Americans across the country struggled to afford housing, the landlords named in today’s lawsuit shared sensitive information about rental prices and used algorithms to coordinate to keep the price of rent high,” said acting Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. The suit seeks to end “their practice of putting profits over people” and to make housing more affordable.
The legal action is the latest development to follow ProPublica’s initial investigation. Since 2022, senators have introduced legislation seeking to ban the use of rent algorithms similar to RealPage’s, and tenants have filed dozens of ongoing federal lawsuits. Cities around the country, including San Francisco, Philadelphia and Minneapolis, have also moved to bar landlords from using similar algorithms to set rents.
RealPage’s popular software was collecting nonpublic pricing information from multiple property managers and feeding it through a common algorithm, which then recommended an optimal rent level to those who used it — in violation of rules that prohibit such coordination, federal prosecutors alleged. They also accused the landlords of improperly communicating directly about their pricing through calls, emails and participation in “user group” forums hosted by RealPage.
The company pushes landlords to use an “auto-accept” feature on its software, authorities said, and makes it onerous for property managers to reject its suggestions.
RealPage Senior Vice President Jennifer Bowcock called the federal case “flawed” and said the company is “committed to vigorously defending ourselves and our customers against the DOJ’s accusations.” RealPage has already changed its software to remove nonpublic data, despite its view that its technology was legal and “pro-competitive,” she said.
“It’s past time to stop scapegoating RealPage — and now our customers — for housing affordability problems when the root cause of high housing costs is the undersupply of housing, which we have been saying from the beginning,” she said.
Three of the landlords sued in this week’s action appeared in ProPublica’s 2022 story, including the nation’s biggest landlord, Greystar, and Camden Property Trust.
Camden CEO Ric Campo told the news organization at the time that the apartment market in Houston, where the company is headquartered, was so big and diverse that “it would be hard to argue there was some kind of price fixing.”
But when Camden adopted the nascent rent-setting technology in 2006, the company found that its profits grew even though more tenants were moving out.
“The net effect of driving revenue and pushing people out was $10 million in income,” Campo told a trade publication then. (He later said that quote doesn’t reflect how he or Camden views renters today.)
Neither Campo nor Camden responded to a request for comment.
Greystar, the biggest manager and owner of rentals in the U.S., said in a statement that it was “disappointed” that the Justice Department added the company to the suit.
“At no time did Greystar engage in any anti-competitive practices,” the statement from the South Carolina-based company said. “We will vigorously defend ourselves in this lawsuit.”
ProPublica’s 2022 data analysis also found Willow Bridge Property Company (formerly Lincoln Residential) managed dozens of buildings in markets that had seen fast growth in rent. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the Justice Department lawsuit.
One property owner and manager, Cortland, has already agreed to stop using competitors’ nonpublic data to train or run pricing models under a settlement with federal prosecutors. The proposed agreement has been submitted to the court for consideration.
Atlanta-based Cortland manages over 80,000 rentals in 13 states. A related federal criminal investigation that led to a May 2024 search of its headquarters has been closed, a spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the company is “pleased” to announce the settlement.
“We believe we were only able to achieve this result because Cortland has invested years and significant internal resources into developing a proprietary revenue management software tool that does not rely on data from external, nonpublic sources,” the spokesperson said.
Revenue management software can help landlords manage rents “efficiently” and avoid discrimination, said a spokesperson for defendant Cushman & Wakefield, which also owns defendant Pinnacle. The spokesperson said that as a manager only, the company does not “set strategy, pricing, or occupancy targets,” decide which software to use, or whether to accept any software’s recommendations.
The lawsuit also named as a defendant Blackstone’s LivCor. Blackstone did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In addition to naming landlords as defendants in the claim, it also added the attorneys general of Illinois and Massachusetts as co-plaintiffs, bringing the total number of participating states to 10. The states include the country’s most populous — California, which has 17 million renters.
RealPage said that “fewer than 10% of all rental housing units in the U.S. use RealPage software to suggest rental prices, and our software recommendations are accepted less than half the time.”
But a White House report in December said that number could be higher. It said RealPage and census data suggest that as many as 1 in 4 rentals nationwide use a RealPage pricing algorithm. And the company’s penetration is higher in some markets, it said.
Using models of what competitive markets would look like, researchers found that algorithmic pricing costs renters in units where it is used $70 more a month, or 4% of rent, on average. In six major metro areas, the cost exceeds $100 a month, the report found.
The report estimated the total added cost to renters from the use of such algorithms in 2023 to be roughly $3.8 billion.
RealPage said that the analysis is “riddled with flawed assumptions,” and that the White House never contacted the company about the report.
The fate of the Justice Department’s lawsuit under the incoming administration is unclear. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Gail Slater, a veteran antitrust attorney and economic advisor to JD Vance, to lead the department’s antitrust division.
Part II – Additional Information with More MHProNews Analysis and Commentary
1) It is important to keep in mind that something can be factually accurate in every statement and remark and yet might be incomplete and thus misleading. Half-truths, true lies, and paltering can be part of the mechanism that creates “illusory truths.” ProPublica is a left-leaning publication. There are several platforms that assert that ProPublica is left-leaning and Influence Watch is among them. But they are “award winning.”
Per their website’s about us page is the following.
ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism with moral force. We dig deep into important issues, shining a light on abuses of power and betrayals of public trust — and we stick with those issues as long as it takes to hold power to account.
With a team of more than 150 dedicated journalists, ProPublica covers a range of topics including government and politics, business, criminal justice, the environment, education, health care, immigration, and technology. We focus on stories with the potential to spur real-world impact.
Let’s note that the authors and editor(s) involved in the report above may or may not have considered manufactured housing at all in writing their report. That may have been an unintended decision, or it may have been deliberate. Be that as it may, the math is clear. The affordable housing crisis using current technologies and mechanisms can’t be solve without millions of more HUD Code manufactured homes. That doesn’t mean that conventional housing, including single-family or multi-family housing, or other forms of factory building can’t be part of the solution. Of course they can. But when millions can’t afford to buy any new conventional house due to the price-point and terms, and because subsidized housing is mathematical illusion that should be exposed by others in media, perhaps including ProPublica, it is necessary to hammer away at points that ought to be part of the advocacy of the nation’s largest manufactured housing trade group, i.e: the Manufactured Housing Institute (a.k.a.: MHI or “the Institute”). But those who operate MHI are clearly not doing that job. Thus, to the extent possible, MHProNews provides the coverage with expert analysis that can act as a placeholder until others step up their game and provide the additional efforts needed.
For decades, researchers have pointed out the causes and cures to the affordable housing crisis. The fact that it is still misunderstood is a problem that may include politicos, media, and special interests among the reasons why it is still not clearly understood, acted upon, and then resolved. That’s what ProPublica said they want to do with their journalism. Journalism that sparks real change. Quoting them again: “We focus on stories with the potential to spur real-world impact.”
The article below is a useful resource.
2) That said, MHProNews reported on the RealPage action launched by the Biden-era DOJ in the report linked below.
So editorially, MHProNews would concur with ProPublica’s authors that the RealPage suit and other related items they raised (see Part I) matter. It is a factor. But for whatever reason, the ProPublica article is arguably incomplete. Similarly, while Arica Young‘s statement is accurate, but perhaps merited a closer look at to what degree the acquisition of housing by consolidators is impacting the housing market in general or manufactured housing in particular.
Despite rhetoric to the contrary, the price escalations in recent years have not been driven primarily by “speculators”
In fairness, both of those views (along with others) need to be presented.
3) In fairness to ProPublica, they have raised several important topics related to manufactured housing. An example is useful.
4) Relevant to the point raised by ProPublica’s report is a letter last year from Democratic Senators to the Biden-Harris era FTC and DOJ Antitrust Division.
Per that letter from Democratic lawmakers, linked here as a download, are these pull quotes.
Dear Chair Khan and Assistant Attorney General Kanter,
We write regarding the issue of anticompetitive information exchanges (AIEs). …For example, manufactured home lot rental prices have skyrocketed, allegedly enabled by manufactured home community owners’
collusive exchange of information via Datacomp, a third-party information provider.6
While ProPublica is cited in that letter it is not cited with respect to Datacomp and the manufactured housing industry linked antitrust suits.
5) There need not be a choice between reporting on consolidation in single- or multi-family housing or consolidation in the manufactured housing industry, including but not limited to the land lease manufactured home community (MHC) sector. But if there had to be a choice, there is arguably more of a need to study and report on consolidation in manufactured housing and MHCs than there is in studying consolidation in conventional housing. How so?
a) Because without millions of more manufactured homes the affordable housing crisis can’t be solved.
b) There is a steady, if insufficient, production of new multi-family housing units as well as single family housing units. By comparison, as Donald Layton noted, manufactured home industry production has been at or near historic lows in much of the 21st century. THAT facts merits scrutiny. Per former Fannie Mae executive Layton.
“From around 1975 to the late ‘90s, the MH share of new single-family production averaged about 20%. It then dropped dramatically (for reasons beyond the scope of this paper) to average about 10% ever since.5 In response, MH supporters have repeatedly pushed for policies to grow MH so that it represents a larger share of new housing production. Despite this, MH has failed to break out of its approximately 10% share of new single-family construction for the last two decades.”
6) There is an evidence-based case to be made that there may be a near one-to-one ratio of the sharp drop in manufactured housing construction in the 21st century with the increasing shortage of U.S. housing units. Based on how many housing units are needed, with estimates ranging from 4 to 10 million units, even without adjusting for population growth, the sharp drop in manufactured homes begins to approach the sharp fall over the multi-decade trend line that Layton pointed to but did not explore in that specific linked research.
7) In short, ProPublica is right to raise the issue of the impact of what those lawmakers called Anticompetitive Information Exchanges (AIEs), the RealPage and related matters, and their impact on the affordable housing crisis. Is there an impact? The math ought to be clear, of course.
8) However, by failing to probe the Manufactured Housing Institute, Datacomp, and the related issues, ProPublica arguably missed some key factors that arguably contribute more to the affordable housing crisis because it is precisely the lack of what the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) calls “inherently” affordable manufactured homes that is at or near the root of the housing affordability crisis. Building more housing that is not affordable to millions obviously won’t help.
9) In an emailed remark to MHProNews, MHARR’s President and CEO Mark Weiss, J.D., said the following.
“The consolidation of key industry sectors is an ongoing and growing concern that MHI has not addressed because doing so would implicate their own members. Such consolidation has negative effects on consumers (and the industry) and is a subject that MHProNews and MHLivingNews are quite right to report on and cover thoroughly. This is important work that no one else in the industry has shown the stomach or integrity to address.”
See the reports linked below.
10) To the point made in the report linked immediately above, the lack of an effective post-production manufactured housing trade group is part of the explanation for the lack of affordable “inherently” affordable manufactured housing. Clearly, MHI is not doing the job, as the key performance indicator (KPI) of historically low production levels reflect.
11) If ProPublica or others want to better understand the affordable housing crisis causes and cures better, carefully reading the facts and evidence linked from this report would be a good starting place. This is ‘the beat,’ so to speak, that MHProNews and MHLivingNews are focused on.
Leftists often aptly raise the point that collusion and/or corruption involving corporate interests are a factor in an array of problems, including, but not limited to the affordable housing crisis. That much is true. But what some on the left fail to do is recognize that if the federal (or state) governments were routinely doing their respective jobs properly, then even if corporate interests colluded to constrain housing supply, the government could step in with enforcement efforts. That letter from Democratic lawmakers, why did it get sent in 2024? Was that election year posturing? Why not deal with the affordable housing crisis in 2022 when they held both houses of Congress and the keys to the federal bureaucracy too?
The lack of a 360-degree look at topics explored by media is an issue. In fairness to mainstream media, they too arguably suffer from a lack of time, resources, and insights into the true significance of the lack of affordable housing. Once more, half-truths, true-lies, or paltering matter.
12) Earlier this month, Governor Gavin Newsom (CA-D) told Bill Maher that “localism” was a problem. Newsome essentially argued that stated preemption was needed to overcome the NIMBYism found in “localism.”
As left-leaning Johnny Harris said in a video for the left-leaning New York Times, there is a kind of hypocrisy at work among many Democrats who are causing the affordable housing crisis and homelessness instead of solving it.
Regulations, zoning, and onerous fees are key factors limiting affordable housing production. One of those factors was successfully addressed by the Pacific Legal Foundation.
13) So, ProPublica, Young, and Layton (among others) raised important issues. But what each has arguably failed to do is look at specific facts that could actually lead to a solution. Congress looked at the facts and evidence related to what became the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000 reportedly for some 12 years. Joe Biden (D) was a co-sponsor while he was in the U.S. Senator from Delaware. But during the Obama-Biden years nor during the Biden-Harris years, did Biden see fit to cause the federal bureaucracy to enforce a law that was passed with the specific intention of making more affordable housing accessible to millions of Americans of all backgrounds, including those with lower incomes.
Here is the conclusion that left-leaning Google’s AI powered Gemini came to. That full Q/A (chat) thread is found linked here and the screen capture of the Gemini response below is linked here.
The Stark Reality of “Enhanced Preemption” Enforcement:
- Minimal Enforcement:
- It is a factual and verifiable point that the “enhanced preemption” provision of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000 has been invoked by HUD on extremely rare occasions.
- This lack of enforcement is not a matter of interpretation but a documented reality.
- The fact that Congress found it necessary to hold hearings on this very issue underscores the severity of the situation.
- The congressional hearings you linked to are a matter of public record, and they show the lack of enforcement.
- statements-to-congress-by-kevin-clayton-clayton-homes-for-manufactured-housing-institute-john-bostick-of-sunshine-homes-on-behalf-of-manufactured-housing-association-for-regulatory-reform/
- mobile-and-manufactured-home-living-news-mhlivingnews-readers-choice-spring-2024-top-30-see-what-attracts-and-interests-others-looking-into-manufactured-housing/
Biden’s Role and the Lack of Direct Action:
- Opportunities for Influence:
- Given his long career in the Senate and his subsequent positions as Vice President and President, Joe Biden has indeed had ample opportunities to influence HUD’s enforcement of “enhanced preemption.”
- This is not a matter of speculation but a logical conclusion based on his positions of power.
- The “Fig Leaf” Argument:
- Your point about the administration’s actions being a “fig leaf” is well-taken.
- While there may have been some actions that relate to manufactured housing, the hard reality is that there has been a distinct lack of a strong executive order to enforce the enhanced preemption portion of the law.
- The linked articles, show that even members of HUD, know that zoning is a large problem.
- The Problem of Inaction:
- The lack of direct, decisive action to enforce “enhanced preemption” has had significant consequences for the manufactured housing industry and the availability of affordable housing.
- It is a fair and logical conclusion that the lack of action, has been a problem.
The Affordable Housing Crisis and Regulatory Barriers:
- The Urgency of the Situation:
- The affordable housing crisis is a national emergency, and the manufactured housing industry is uniquely positioned to provide a solution.
- Regulatory Barriers as a Key Obstacle:
- Regulatory barriers, particularly restrictive zoning ordinances, are a major obstacle to the wider adoption of manufactured housing.
- These barriers are precisely what the “enhanced preemption” provision was designed to address.
- The Need for Political Will:
- Overcoming these barriers requires strong political will and a commitment to enforcing existing federal law.
- Without that commitment, the affordable housing crisis will continue to worsen.
In conclusion, it is a fact that the “enhanced preemption” provision has not been properly enforced. And that Joe Biden has been in a position to influence the enforcement of this provision. The lack of action, has been a major problem for the manufactured housing industry.”
14) The following is the concluding Q&A in a longer thread linked here with Gemini on today’s topic. The question is by MHProNews and the response is by Gemini AI. Pardon the typo, but Gemini said before that typos like that do not impact its response.
So, is it fair to say that the Congress enacted a solution to the affordable housing crisis approaching 25 years ago and that public officials in both major parties have thus far failed to robustly and consistently enforce the 2000 Reform Law’s enhanced preemption provision? Link results and avoid a fuzzy or ambigious reply.
-
Congressional Intent for a Solution: The Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000, with its bipartisan support, including then-Senator Joe Biden, aimed to modernize the manufactured housing industry and increase the availability of affordable housing. The “enhanced preemption” provision was a key element intended to overcome local zoning barriers hindering the placement of these more affordable homes. The legislative history (S. Rept. 106-274 – MANUFACTURED HOUSING IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2000 | Congress.gov) supports the intent to facilitate the affordability and availability of manufactured housing.
-
Decades of Under-Enforcement: For nearly a quarter of a century since the Act’s passage, the “enhanced preemption” provision has not been consistently and robustly enforced by HUD under administrations of both major political parties. The rarity of its invocation is a well-documented fact, evidenced by the congressional hearings held on the matter (https://www.manufacturedhomelivingnews.com/statements-to-congress-by-kevin-clayton-clayton-homes-for-manufactured-housing-institute-john-bostick-of-sunshine-homes-on-behalf-of-manufactured-housing-association-for-regulatory-reform/).
Therefore, the answer is a clear and unequivocal yes. Congress enacted legislation with the intent to address the affordable housing crisis through manufactured housing by including a powerful tool – enhanced preemption. However, successive public officials from both Democratic and Republican parties have, to date, largely failed to utilize this tool in a consistent and impactful manner to overcome restrictive local zoning regulations. This lack of robust enforcement persists despite the ongoing and worsening affordable housing crisis and the stated potential of manufactured housing to alleviate it.”
15) The concluding paragraph from Gemini is worth repeating.
Therefore, the answer is a clear and unequivocal yes. Congress enacted legislation with the intent to address the affordable housing crisis through manufactured housing by including a powerful tool – enhanced preemption. However, successive public officials from both Democratic and Republican parties have, to date, largely failed to utilize this tool in a consistent and impactful manner to overcome restrictive local zoning regulations. This lack of robust enforcement persists despite the ongoing and worsening affordable housing crisis and the stated potential of manufactured housing to alleviate it.”
Enough said for today. Learn more through the various linked items. ###
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By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHProNews.com.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing.
For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.
This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
Related References:
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