OriginationNews tells MHProNews the average 30-year mortgage rate dropped to a new record low, 3.31% in Freddie Mac’s weekly survey. During the week ending Nov. 21 the 15-year mortgage rate also set a record, dropping to 2.63% from 2.65% the previous week. Shorter-term rates moved little or none, as the …
After 40 years in print form, the NADA Manufactured Housing Cost Guide is finally going digital. MHProNews has been informed NADAguides Manufactured Housing CONNECT digital solution will allow community owners, dealers, and insurance and financial institutions to determine the value of inventory as well as portfolios. Accessible from any device …
GlobeNewsWire reports from Finland, Stora Enso and Skanska are collaborating to build a moderately priced modular housing project comprised of 36 BoKlok apartments in seven multi-story buildings. Skanska and IKEA developed the BoKlok concept in the mid-1990s, and 5,000 homes have been sold in Sweden. Stora Enso’s Hartola production unit …
Finnish Collaboration to Build Affordable Modular Housing Read More
In its attempt to identify possible solutions for the estimated 20,000 people made homeless by Hurricane Sandy, some of whom may be without homes for months or years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is considering using modular stackable units to temporarily house residents of New York and New Jersey. …
CNNMoney reports U.S. Census Bureau figures indicate home building rose to its highest level in four years in Oct., with builders beginning construction at the annual adjusted rate of 894,000 last month, 3.6 percent better than the previous month. While single-family home starts changed little from Sept., multi-family building has …
The three indexes barely budged today as investors renewed worries about the European debt crisis and a sharp sell-off of Hewlett-Packard shares. CNNMoney reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost -0.06 percent, -7.45 points, ending the day at 12,788.51. The Nasdaq advanced +0.02 percent, +0.61 points to close at 2,916.68, …
All but One Tracked Housing Stock Squeaked out a Gain Read More
According to ArchDaily, shipping containers are in great supply because it is more expensive to ship them back to China or Europe, than it is to make new ones in Asia. The advantages to using them are cost, durability, and strength as well as availability. The downsides include the coatings …
During the last five years New York City’s Bloomberg Administration has been developing a plan to make temporary housing quarters out of 40 foot shipping containers with a door and window at each end, a bedroom, kitchen, bath and living area in between. Each 480 square foot unit would be …
GuruFocus reports Sam Zell of Equity Group Investments, presenting at Chicago’s Invest for Kids conference, says the Eurozone is heading for a recession because the currency is imploding. One of the world’s most successful real estate investors, he says the will to embrace austerity measures in the U.S. in order …
SearsHomes reminds us of their original prefabricated kit-built homes they sold 100 years ago. The Rodessa, a bungalow, had two bedrooms and just over 500 square feet, and sold for $907. in 1910, “cut and fitted” as the advertisement says. It was simple and practical and easy to produce quickly. …
HousingWire reports sales of existing homes increased 2.1 percent October over Sept. to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.79 million as compared to 4.69 million the previous month. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) says on the year, sales of existing homes are up almost 11 percent over the …
BusinessDayLive tells MHProNews twelve million people in South Africa do not have adequate housing, so the government is putting together a private-public collaboration for modular housing. Duro, founded in 1955, has experience in developing building materials and built a 1,200 unit housing project in Angola. The state already buys shack …
South Africa Considering Public/Private MOD Housing Read More
In another sign of an improving housing market, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) reports builder confidence in the market for new, single-family homes gained five points to 46. Marking the seventh consecutive monthly gain, and this is the highest reading since May 2006. Says …
An increase in existing home sales for October and confidence the fiscal cliff will be effectively addressed before Jan. 1 pleased investors, as stocks rallied to their best gain in months. CNNMoney reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained +1.65 percent, +207.65 points, ending the day at 12,795.96. The Nasdaq …
According to coloradoan, the closing of two manufactured homes slated for development in Fort Collins, Colo. that displaced nearly 50 low-income struggling families, and closed some of the most affordable housing in the area, will be discussed by the city as a means to plan for the future. The city …
From Modular Home Builder comes word modular builder Blu Homes, which moved its operations from Massachusetts to an old airplane hangar in Vallejo, Calif., as we reported here Sept. 14, 2012, has purchased the assets of modern accessory dwelling maker Modern Cabana. The styles fit in with Blu’s modernistic designs. …
According to SeekingAlpha, the Dow Jones Equity REIT (real estate investment trust) Index rose quicker than popular stock averages until the beginning of 2007, then fell from a high above 360 to a low under 100, and for the last two years has been over 200. REITs are considered yield …
The Nebraska Public Service Commission (NPSC), noting each transportable section of a manufactured home should display a Federal Manufactured Home label on the exterior, says if consumers have a question about the label and the home was built in Nebraska, contact the NPSC. If the home was built in another …
Following a story we last covered June 6, 2012, when a ballot measure (Proposition E) to eliminate rent control in MHCs was defeated in Oceanside, Calif., residents of the city’s 17 MHCs said they would exact their revenge against city council members who voted in favor of the proposal in …
According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), 74.1 percent of all homes sold nationwide in Q3 2012 were affordable to families who earned the U.S. median income of $65,000, up from 73.8 of homes sold in the second quarter that were affordable to median …
