The website SmarTrend recently compared several manufactured home builders with site builders on the basis of a measuring unit known as revenue per employee (RPE), finding the site builders outperforming manufactured home builders. SmarTrend says analysts use RPE as a measure to compare the productivity of companies in the same …
CNBC reports shares of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway were up nearly four percent in mid-day trading Monday after Barron’s suggested the company could pay its first dividend since Buffett took over in the mid-1960s. It’s also predicting Berkshire’s stock price could top its all-time high this year – that’s about …
The New York Times reported Monday that since the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers have spent more than $160 million defending the mortgage finance companies in civil lawsuits. The companies produced an accounting revealing the information at the request of Congress. The newspaper says the bulk …
Fannie and Freddie Pay out Millions to Defend Lawsuits Read More
Trulia.com released its latest Rent vs. Buy Index Monday, which found that it is more affordable to buy than to rent a two-bedroom home in 72 percent of America’s 50 largest cities. Meanwhile, a nation of renters has emerged as more Americans rent by choice or due to unforeseen financial …
From Canada, News 1130 reports that the City of Vancouver will start calling for submissions from architects and designers for a pilot project to get modular and affordable housing up and running. Officials told the reporter the city has a number of land holdings and is surveying locations for the …
From the Calgary Herald comes news that an Arizona manufactured home community is trying to lure Canadians with sunshine and sweet deals. The article notes for the past few weeks, the Canadian dollar has been at, just below or just above its American counterpart. The last time that happened, snowbirds …
Arizona Community Looking to Lure Canadian Snowbirds Read More
The Associated Press reports that companies that manufactured homes for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after Hurricane Katrina have agreed to pay $2.6 million to resolve thousands of claims that the shelters exposed Gulf Coast storm victims to potentially dangerous fumes from formaldehyde. The chemical, commonly found in building materials, …
Settlement Reached on Issues with Formaldehyde in FEMA Homes Read More
From Dash.com comes an editorial item conveying that traditional building methods must make room for more cost-effective and sustainable designs if the UK’s growing housing crisis is to be alleviated. Currently, construction rates are around 80,000 new homes below the level required to meet population growth and tackle affordability and …
Stocks were in for a correction last week but managed to end on an up note. The Dow rose 47 points on Friday. Most manufactured housing stocks were little changed. One exception was All American Group, which rose 13 percent to close at .25 cents a share. The Manufactured Housing …
The global market for polymeric foams is projected to reach 18 million metric tons by the year 2015 according to Global Industry Analysts. Growth in the market is led by the unique benefits offered by cellular materials compared to conventional materials, introduction of new application markets, and growing interest in …
Global Polymeric Foams Market to Reach 18 Million Metric Tons by 2015 Read More
CBSDFW.COM reports on manufactured home owners in Grapevine, Texas upset with the city over requests to bring additions up to code. Resident Phillip McNeal built an addition 20 years ago for his son and was asked recently by the city to see some paperwork for it. Several other residents of …
Unlike the manufactured housing industry in the United States, the market for manufactured homes in Canada remains rather prosperous by comparison. A Canadian Manufactured Housing Institute (CMHI) report for the 3rd quarter of 2010 shows some 3,608 factory-built single-family homes were started in the third quarter, representing a 17 percent …
Drew Industries, a manufacturer of components for the recreational vehicle and manufactured housing industries, announced its January 11th Retail Investor Conferences.com presentation is available for on-demand viewing. Fred Zinn, Drew’s President and CEO, and Joseph Giordano III, Drew’s CFO and Treasurer presented to retail investors through the virtual investor conference …
The Massachusetts Manufactured Housing Association shares news that Governor Deval Patrick signed into law on November 17 a new law exempting sheds less than 120 square feet in a manufactured housing community from taxation. The bill was championed by a resident of Cranberry Village manufactured housing community. Carver may not …
From Colorado, the Wet Mountain Tribune reports that the town of Silver Cliff saw an uptick in building and zoning permits issued in 2010. A total of 29 permits were issued in Silver Cliff last year as compared to 20 in 2009 and three of the 29 involved factory-built housing. …
If there’s a word for the week on Wall Street, correction might be it. While by mid-afternoon it looked as if the Dow would actually close higher, by the bell it was down two points – essentially ending the day flat. Most manufactured housing and related stocks again ended the …
The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) sent out a bulletin indicating an Executive Order regarding federal regulation issued by the White House on over-regulation marks a major policy and has implications for manufactured housing as a federally-regulated industry. “In fact,” the bulletin states, “it appears this Order almost …
MHARR Uses Executive Order to Press HUD on In-Plant Regulation Read More
Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) industry members participated in a high-level briefing on Capitol Hill today focused on high energy performance in manufactured and modular homes. Emanuel Levy, Systems Building Research Alliance, and Kevin Clayton, Clayton Homes, Inc., presented to a standing-room-only audience. The briefing addressed “manufactured” housing, built in a …
Forex reports there were a record low number of housing completions in 2010, breaking the record set in 2009. The company says the total for single family, multi-family and manufactured homes (estimated) was 703 thousand units in 2010. That is about 17 percent below the 844 units completed in 2009 …
Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey finding mixed results for both long- and short-term rates, with the 30-year rising slightly and the 15-year falling just as slightly. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.74 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending January …
