“Cannot believe they used our promotional material from the nineties to mock our industry! Not cool!!” said William G. ‘Bill’ Sheffer, CAE, Executive Director, Michigan Manufactured Housing Association (MMHA).
Sheffer and the MMHA are not the only Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) members and affilates who have ranted about HBO’s John Oliver Last Week Tonight viral hit called “Mobile Homes.”
MHI is said to have tried to head this off, if so, they missed. Now that it is out, the consensus of the emailed statements among MHI affiliated executives – under the watchful eye of Arlington, VA – is that it is wise not to respond to this latest hit against the industry.
Really?
What happened to the notion from former MHI Chairman, Tim Williams? See his prior on the record quote on just such hits below.
The MHI connected leaders can’t have it both ways. They’ve tried not responding to PBS, to OZY Media, other such perceived slurs on our industry for years. How is that working out?
Let’s let Michigan’s own stated facts answer that question.
At the request of their marketing contractor, the Michigan association wanted readers to know about the following.
“Hi Tony,
Here’s some initial information for you.
The two TV spots are on MMHA’s YouTube page:
“50% Less per Square Foot”
“Communities in Great Locations”
Michigan Manufactured Home NEW Sales
2017: 4864 (significantly up from 2016’s sales of 2759)
2018: 4096
Michigan Manufactured Home USED Sales
2017: 1881
2018: 2900
…Thanks,
Cheryl Russell
So, let’s recap the above from Ms. Russell.
During an affordable housing crisis, Michigan’s new home sales went up from 2016, and then went down from 2017. What is not stated in the above are the large numbers of those new units going into land-lease communities as rental housing. New HUD Code home sales remain at historically low levels. Industry factories – including numbers of MHI-only producer members – have told the Daily Business News on MHProNews that they see a wall coming, as communities get closer to capacity.
Something must change, because the industry isn’t advancing. Instead, both MHI and MHARR’s data reveal that the industry is going backwards now for the past 6 months. What do the leaders of MHI have to say? They point to inventory restructuring, a decline in FEMA order, an other arguable head fakes. MHI’s own members investor relations data points to historically low production as reason to believe there is more upside.
Let’s be clear. MHProNews believes it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness. So to that extent, we commend the MMHA.
That said, what the MMHA effort has done is once more prove that pretty pictures, nice website, or a fine commercial video aren’t the only answer. Frankly – and to their credit – the MMHA has done more than many states, and has for years. Yet Michigan’s shipments have been in decline. Russell and the MMHA admit it is so.
It isn’t a slam to say the following, it is a sobering reality check.
As of the time this report is being created, here are the video view statistics on the MMHA videos, compared to the views on John Oliver’s “Mobile Homes” viral hit video.
MHProNews respects the MMHA’s contracted media firm – via Ms. Russell – doing what was asked, giving factual replies. Here was some of the pull quotes from the press release Russell initially asked us to run.
- Consumer interest in manufactured housing continues to be strong. In 2018, new manufactured home sales in Michigan totaled 4,096. MMHA wants to continue the industry’s momentum and educate potential homebuyers on manufactured housing quality, style, lifestyle and affordability.
Momentum? The statistics betray that claim. It was one of the reasons we, as responsible trade media, asked the follow up questions, which Russell thoughtfully did.
- “We are targeting those who are looking for affordable alternatives to traditional built homes,” said Bill Sheffer, executive director of MMHA. “Homebuyers are looking for high-quality homes with great features in friendly neighborhoods.”
MMHA has, once more as noted, done more than many manufactured home state trade groups. But what they have arguably not done are the same thing that MHI and the ‘big boys’ have not done. That is to fight back, debunk the false or misleading claims made against the manufactured home industry. It is our contention – backed by years of evidence – that it is a critical part of advancing sales once more.
Why hasn’t MMHA, done so? Sources say it is difficult for many associations, not just MHI. Why? Because what Marty Lavin, JD, who won one of MHI’s most prestigious awards, said is arguably true.
While the industry’s Arlington based trade group and their surrogates posture action, every savvy business measures action by results. Those results are certainly going to include shipment and production reports. It isn’t just Michigan, even number 1 and 2 Texas and Louisiana have declined year-to-date.
But big boy firms can measure results differently. They can measure results by consolidation of more independently owned sites, of more independent retail centers that vanished.
MHI’s general counsel and others there have been asked to respond to these concerns. We know they got the messages. Silence. That’s their right in the U.S. constitutional system.
But that silence can be construed to imply that our concerns are valid.
Meanwhile, the industry gets buffeted – pun intended – by the new John Oliver video that has gone viral, and is being reported by numerous media outlets.
It is time to shake up the system, because what has been occurring has benefited only a few.
That’s this afternoon’s manufactured home “Industry News, Tips, and Views That Pros Can Use.” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © ## (News, analysis, and commentary.)
NOTICE: You can get our ‘read-hot’ industry-leading emailed headline news updates, at this link here. You can join the scores who follow us on Twitter at this link. Connect on LinkedIn here.
NOTICE 2: Readers have periodically reported that they are getting a better experience when reading MHProNews on the Microsoft Edge, or Apple Safari browser than with Google’s Chrome browser. Chrome reportedly manipulates the content of a page more than the other two browsers do.
(Related Reports are further below. Third-party images and content are provided under fair use guidelines.)
1) To sign up in seconds for our MH Industry leading emailed news updates, click here.
2) To pro-vide a News Tips and/or Commentary, click the link to the left. Please note if comments are on-or-off the record, thank you.
3) Marketing, Web, Video, Consulting, Recruiting and Training Re-sources
Related Reports:
You can click on the image/text boxes to learn more about that topic.
“Mind Blowing,” Ultra-Modern Tiny House on Wheels, Viral Video – MH Intelligence Report
Why is Seattle Dying? Affordable Housing, Misplaced Compassion, and Manufactured Homes – manufacturedhomelivingnews.com
In just over three weeks, this video below entitled ” Seattle is Dying ” by KOMO, a local ABC TV affiliate there, has broken 2.1 million views. It is an hour-long and compelling documentary that ends with hope based upon some promising solutions. But it first lays out one troubling fact and example after another.
HBO’s John Oliver on Last Week Tonight Mobile Homes Video, Manufactured Home Communities Fact Check – manufacturedhomelivingnews.com
” Mobile homes were perfected by humans, but invented by snails,” John Oliver on HBO’s Last Week Tonight, per Time. ” The homes of some the poorest people in America are being snapped up by some of the richest people in America.” Really?
HUD Code Manufactured Home Production Decline Continues | Manufactured Housing Association Regulatory Reform
Washington, D.C., April 5, 2019 – The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) reports that according to official statistics compiled on behalf of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), year-over-year HUD Code manufactured home production declined once again in February 2019.
“The Illusion of Motion Versus Real-World Challenges” | Manufactured Housing Association Regulatory Reform
Motion – or, more accurately, activity – in and of itself, is not necessarily synonymous with, or equivalent to, realprogress, or, in fact, any progress at all.
