The Dow dropped 172.45 points to fall below 12,000 for the first time in 3 months, closing at 11,951.91, as insurance and financial stocks and commodities took a beating. Several housing stocks closed down as well. Deer Valley gained 11.11 percent, MSCI moved up .19 percent. Meanwhile, Skyline Corporation lost …
Dow Stumbles at Week’s End as do Several Housing Stocks Read More
KOAMTV7 reports from Pittsburgh, Kansas, that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is now bringing in manufactured homes for those who continue to be displaced by the May 22 twister that devastated Joplin, Missouri. 8,000 homes were destroyed in the storm. FEMA officials have been sending people to rental units, …
FEMA Homes Coming to Joplin MO for Post-Tornado Housing Read More
The Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) weekly newsletter reports the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is increasing the rebate amounts for ENERGY STAR manufactured homes to $1,950 per home for customers in their seven state service area. Under the program, home manufacturing plants will receive $1,450 for each ENERGY STAR home sold …
The auction of manufactured homes in Bourbonnais, Illinois drew attendees from states as diverse as PA, TX, LA and MS, as well as from IL, MI and IN. A source at the auction told MHMSM.com that the auction was well organized, and drew sums within 30% of original factory cost. …
The Times Press Recorder says San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson states it’s only a matter of time until low-level offenders are released from California state prisons and lodged in local jurisdictional jails and halfway houses. Sheriff Parkinson says he has room for more men but would have to …
Zacks reports that Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) and UMH (AMEX:UMH) rank first and second, respectively, in return on equity (ROE) among residential real estate investment trusts (REITs). Investors are attracted to firms with high ROEs because it is generally considered to be a sign of efficiency. Equity’s ROE is 18.4 …
Realtor Mag, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) publication, says Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, in its latest annual “State of the Nation’s Housing” summary, cites population growth and shifting demand driving the need for more homes. Household growth averaged 1.2 million each year from 2000-2007, then dropped …
Harvard Study Asserts 16 Million New Homes Needed in Ten Years Read More
The Dow jumped back Thursday, June 9, after six consecutive days of closing down, buoyed by bank, utilities and energy stocks, to gain 75.42 points and close at 12,241.36. Housing stocks closed mixed. MSCI gained 1.62 percent and Equity LifeStyle Properties moved up .39 percent. Sun Communities lost 1.41 percent, …
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) held an “Industry Day” seminar June 8 concerning production and future use of small disaster-relief homes, called Temporary Housing Units (THUs). Over fifty industry representatives attended. The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) says the small housing units, 350 to 550 square feet, …
FEMA May Order More Homes from Factories for Disaster Relief Read More
WGRZ2 reports from Cheektowaga, New York, just outside Buffalo, that two modular homes built by seniors from area high schools will be auctioned off, and the proceeds will buy supplies for next year’s students to build homes. Thirty students, all interested in working in the home building field, spent two …
High School Seniors Learn Modular Home Construction Read More
Yahoo! Finance reports that mortgage rates have dropped for an eighth consecutive week. Freddie Mac says the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 4.49 percent from 4.55 percent the previous week, and the 15-year mortgage fell from 3.74 percent to 3.68 percent, and both are at year’s …
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced that specific counties in Illinois, Oklahoma and Minnesota have been declared disaster areas by President Obama. Homeowners and low-income renters who were forced from their homes during the storms and flooding last month in Oklahoma and Minnesota, and in Illinois in April, …
East Atlanta Patch in Georgia says Resources for Residents and Communities (RRC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that offers free workshops on everything necessary to know about buying and maintaining a home, including foreclosure. There is a nominal $30 charge for the one-day event, but that includes individual counseling if necessary. …
CNNMoney reports in an exchange between Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, that Dimon said the government is stifling the recovery with its reforms, including the Dodd-Frank Act (Dodd-Frank). Bernanke spoke in Atlanta at the International Monetary Conference and acknowledged the recovery is slow. Dimon …
Wall Street Banker Blames New Regulations for Slow Recovery Read More
The Dow ended the day losing 21.87 points on fears of the economic slowdown to close at 12,048.94, and many housing stocks also closed down. Equity LifeStyle Properties gained 1.04 percent and Sun Communities moved up .03 percent. Palm Harbor Homes lost 31.67 percent, Deer Valley was down 8.86 percent, …
Dow Falls as Investors’ Fears Rise, Housing Stocks Mostly Down Also Read More
The Toledo Blade says Springfield Township officials have established a partnership program with two area schools that will provide shelter to residents of five nearby communities of pre-HUD Code (mobile) homes. Residents of Royal Village would go to Dorr Elementary School, and Woodside Terrace residents would be sheltered at Springfield …
Schools’ Emergency Shelter Plan Includes Residents of Pre-HUD Code Homes Read More
The Daily Comet reports from Thibodaux, Louisiana, just west of New Orleans, that the city council voted to permit factory-built housing in areas where it had been previously banned. There are four residential districts in the city. R-1 is the most restrictive and R-4 the least restrictive. The move allows …
Origination News reports that unless Congress changes its mind before Oct. 1, mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will be more affected by the pending change in loan limits than those securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The FHA says 669 of the 3,334 counties will likely …
Alabama’s 13 says Cordova is not the only city in Alabama hit by the April 27 tornado that does not allow manufactured housing outside an existing community of factory-built homes. Fultondale, just outside Birmingham, has a similar ordinance that Mayor Jim Lowrey says will be enforced, while adding the city …
FEMA Homes Restricted in Another Alabama Community Read More
The Reno Gazette-Journal in western Nevada reports the Lyon County Board of Commissioners has amended an ordinance that primarily affects manufactured housing. Any manufactured home over 15 years of age that has not been occupied for 12 consecutive months or more, according to electrical power records, may not be reoccupied …
County Extends Reinstatement Time for Unoccupied MH Read More
