This may mean that more people are getting married, or that some adult children are finally moving out of their parents’ homes, or both.
Matthews also says that “The data dovetails nicely with a prediction from Realtor.com’s Jonathan Smoke, which Fortune published earlier this week, stating that 2015 would be the year that Millennials start making a big splash in the housing market, as they leave their parents homes and strike out on their own.”
One wonders if the Millennials know about this?
Indeed, in another report published in the Daily Business News, other experts echo similar facts and thinking. They, too, come complete with their own graphs and charts, seen at the link above.
Still a few notes of caution are merited.
It’s always nice to have some good news during the Christmas season. While housing prices have recovered to “pre-bubble” days in various markets, there are still clouds over this forecast.
First, professionals must work with the realization of current regulations for obtaining a loan. If that is difficult in the site built market, it is more so for manufactured housing. Will the Duty to Serve (DTS) required of the GSE’s by the Housing and Recovery Act (HERA 2008) be on the agenda for implementation by industry allies in 2015?
Second, the level of new housing construction has remained at recession-like levels, as one chart shows. The new home shipment levels – our industry’s equivalent to new home starts – is still worse for manufactured housing post 2010 than any year before it. While MH is into year 5 of a recovery, we are still far below historic levels. This is an issue that industry leaders must rally to address. See the story linked below.
In addition, the employment rate for those in the 25 to 34 age group has only grown 2.8 percent during the past year, which doesn’t seem impressive. Why? Unfortunately, this figure does not take into account the millions who have stopped looking for work, which some say that the labor-force participation rate is the worst since WWII, or even before.
Matthews says, “the millennial generation now coming of age doesn’t have the same economic opportunities as members of preceding generations.”
So while the bumps in the road are many, indirectly they point to numerous opportunities for factory-home builders. The caveat is as action must follow the words of MH industry leaders across the spectrum of organizations and sectors, like those noted in the article linked here. ##
(Graphic credits as shown and by Fortune)
