In the company’s year end and Q4 conference call, UMH’s president and CEO Samuel Landy says the company acquired 14 manufactured home communities (MHC) comprised of 1,600 developed homesites for $42.6 million, representing an increase in home sites of 12 percent. In addition, UMH acquired an MHC in Erie, Pennsylvania …
UMH Properties Reports Sustained Growth for Q4 2014 Read More
In a sign that the home-building industry is set for a busy spring season, John Burns Real Estate Consulting Inc. reports a survey of home builders indicates Feb. 2015 sales were up 12 percent from the same month last year. Gains were strongest in the West and Northwest, he says …
A bi-partisan group of U. S. senators have reintroduced the Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act so fewer manufactured home loans are classified as high cost. Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.VA), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) filed the bill that will alter the thresholds under the …
Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act Reintroduced in Senate Read More
Noting that New Jerseyans must earn $24.92 an hour to afford a two-bedroom fair market rent apartment without paying over 30 percent of their income, mycentraljersey tells MHProNews manufactured homes have emerged as a viable alternative. Robert Dolan, owner of Edison Mobile Estates in Edison, NJ says the “mobile” in …
New Jersey Community has Energy Star Manufactured Homes Read More
The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) informs MHProNews that HUD Code homes producers manufactured 4,969 homes in January 2015, a 12.8 percent increase over the 4,405 homes produced in January 2014. Statistics compiled by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reveals this marks the sixth year …
Financial regulators released the final Qualified Residential Mortgage rule (QRM) definition, intended to limit the risky credit lending that kicked off the housing crisis originally, and dropped the 20 percent down payment requirement that would have necessitated lenders keep five percent “skin-in-the-game.” Instead lenders have to meet the general definition …
Homegoods retailer Muji in Japan has entered the modular housing business, according to gizmodo.com.au, adding modular homes to its line of 7,500 housewares. Japanese homes last on average 38 years (100 years in U. S.) because people there prefer to tear down existing buildings and build to their own specs. …
Japanese Retailer Muji adds Modular Homes to Homegoods Read More
Frontier Housing, a non-profit affordable housing steward in Morehead, Kentucky that offers factory-built homes as one of its options, is celebrating its 40th anniversary of providing housing solutions in northeastern Kentucky Nov. 15 at the Morehead Conference Center. Following entertainment and dinner, three awards will be announced: the Amanda Yarber …
The 2by4 Architects design firm in the Netherlands has developed a series of three small modular houses, each a little larger than the previous one. The tiny mods have wooden walls, frame and roof. They include an electric heat pump system, as well as optional off-grid components such as a …
Dutch Mini Homes start at $95,000 for Smallest Model Read More
Luci Ellis, the Australian Reserve Bank’s head of financial stability, addressing a Sydney University urban planning forum, says housing crashes do not increase affordability. “Housing prices are lower, yes, but capacity to pay is also lower,” she notes. Professor Kirk McClure of the University of Kansas, while noting the U. …
Australia Taking Lessons from U. S. Housing Crisis Read More
Instrumental in the formation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and a strong proponent of financial reform, U. S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), noting the rise in non-bank mortgage servicers, is asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the risks to consumers. A report by the Federal Housing …
Senator Elizabeth Warren Raises Concerns over non-bank Mortgage Servicers Read More
Commenting on The Atlantic‘s article about manufactured housing (MH), the CFPB and MH financing, Amy Bliss of the Wisconsin Housing Alliance, compliments the piece for citing facts such as: > energy efficiency, > less waste in the building process, > availability to middle-incomers, while acknowledging the difficulty in finding financing …
The Atlantic’s article on Manufactured Housing Evoked Comments Read More
Since the formation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in 2011, which the financial services industry fought to prevent, Republicans in the House and in the Senate have said it is an intrusion of government into the market. If the Republicans take control of the Senate in the upcoming …
If the GOP Takes the Senate, the CFPB may Take a Bath Read More
Following a story MHProNews last reported on July 2, 2014 regarding conditions and rent at the Easton Mobile Home Park in Easton, Massachusetts, the Board of Selectmen refused to roll back rents from $468 to $293. Acting as the Mobile Home Park Rent Control Board, the board members expressed fears …
Easton Rents Hold, but Community Owners Must Make Repairs Read More
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports homeownership for the under 35 year-old crowd has fallen from 43 percent in 2005 to 36 percent today, according to nationaljournal. Even with very affordable interest rates, the Millennial generation in many cases is saddled with student debt, putting a damper on their …
A growing trend for the last decade has been an influx of foreign buyers from Asia, Australia and Europe purchasing homes in the U. S., which is actually helping the real estate market price recovery. A report by the National Association of Realtors says $22 billion of the $92 billion …
International Real Estate Buyers Spur U. S. Housing Market Read More
A 415 square foot customized tiny home now sited in the Bruton Park manufactured home community (MHC) in York County, Virginia may have to move because it has not been approved to meet the federal HUD Code standards for a manufactured home (MH). Karen and Tom Rogers lived with their …
Moody’s Investor Services, a leading credit-rating agency, tells MHProNews that while the Canadian government has an AAA rating due to its improving finances and its strong regulatory and institutional framework, rising home prices and high consumer debt may pose a risk to the economy. Steven Hess, Moody’s senior vice-president, says, …
Canada’s Economy, Housing Strong Despite Rising Debt and Home Prices Read More
The New York Times ‘ recent article on the MH/CFPB issue states that manufactured homes have become a crucial source of affordable housing in the South, West and northern New England, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) report last month, with prices of less than half the $94 per square …
New York Times on CFPB – Manufactured Homes Crucial to Affordable Housing Read More
In September, marking the third time this year, total housing starts hit the far side of the million mark, advancing 6.3 percent to a seasonally annual adjusted rate (SAAR) of 1.017 million, according to numbers released by the Census Bureau and the U. S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development …
