NAHB’s Eye on Housing 10.7.2024 Report Provides Embarrassing Data for their ‘Housing Coalition Partner’ Manufactured Housing Institute – Facts – Graphics – MHVille Analysis
“LBM Journal is the leading media company serving lumberyards, building material distributors, wholesalers, manufacturers, and service providers.” LBM Journal is one of the various trade and other platforms that reported on the National Association of Home Builders “Eye on Housing” report on manufactured housing production and data for 2023 that follows in Part I of this report. The data and graphics from the NAHB are largely accurate, as far as they go. However, there is no mention of what the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reforms has called the main “bottlenecks” that are suppressing manufactured home sales. What this news-analysis will reveal is this. It is not so much as what NAR’s Eye on Housing said, but what they didn’t say that is an apparent embarrassment to the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) who periodically brag in emails and other communications about their ‘housing coalition partners.’
Part I of this report will be the NAR media release reported by Forest Economic Advisers (FEA), LBM Journal and others.
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Part I
Manufactured Homes: Shipments, Prices, and Characteristics in 2023
New manufactured homes saw a decline in shipments in 2023 compared to the previous year. According to the Manufactured Housing Survey (MHS), 89,169 manufactured homes were shipped in 2023, a decrease of 21% from the 112,882 homes shipped in 2022. The Census defines a manufactured home as a movable dwelling, 8 feet or more wide and 40 feet or more long, designed to be towed on its own chassis, with transportation gear integral to the unit when it leaves the factory, and without need of a permanent foundation. No building permit is required for a manufactured home.
Despite the 2023 decline, the ratio of shipments to new single-family site-built home construction starts remained consistent between 1 to 9 and 1 to 10. In 2023, that number was 1 to 10, meaning that for every new manufactured home shipped, 10 new single-family site-built homes started construction. Of the total 2023 shipments, 35.7% (31,830 homes) were either sold or leased, while 2022 saw 46,696 (49%) being sold or leased.
Regionally, the South continued to receive the majority of shipments at 66%. The Midwest followed with 14%, the West with 11%, and the Northeast with 6%. Texas remained the leading state for shipments, accounting for 15,073 homes, which represents 17% of the total. Altogether, the top ten states comprised over 60% of the shipment share, highlighting a concentrated market presence.
Breaking down the types of manufactured homes shipped, 45% were single-section units. These homes had an average sales price of $84,800 and an average area of 1,038 square feet, translating to a price of $81.70 per square foot. In contrast, 54% of the shipments were multi-section homes, with an average sales price of $154,100 and a larger area of 1,748 square feet, equating to $88.16 per square foot. When compared to new single-family site-built homes started in 2023, which had an average price of $165.94 per square foot (excluding land value), multi-section manufactured homes are approximately 1.9 times less expensive per square foot.
Out of the total homes shipped, 70% (59,950 homes) were placed at their final destinations. Among the placed homes, 21% were titled as real estate property, while the majority, 76%, were classified as personal property. Additionally, only 29% of the placed homes were situated within a manufactured housing community. Census doesn’t have an official definition of a manufactured housing community, but as an example of the industry’s term of art, Law Insider defines it as “any area where two or more manufactured home lots are leased specifically for the use of manufactured homes”.
Looking into other characteristics of placed manufactured homes, over half (57%) had concrete footings. Pressure-treated wood and monolithic-slab foundations comprised 12% each, and basement or crawl space foundations was 4%. For homes not placed on concrete or slab foundations, the most common type of pier is concrete block (77%) while the majority (84%) were secured using anchors and tie-down straps, and 11% utilizing anchors and alternative foundations. ##
Part II – Additional Information with More MHProNews Analysis and Commentary
1) As was noted above, the data from the NAHB is largely accurate, as far as it goes. However, there are any number of topics that NAHB ignores. For examples.
2) There was no mention of production and shipment pre-2003. In that respect, they may have done the Manufactured Housing Institute a favor. Because the fall in shipments is much more pronounced since the late 1990s than since 2003.
59061/7 = 8437.28571429. 8437.28571429 x 12 (annualized at current YTD pace) = 101,247.428571. So, if that pace more or less (MOL) held steady, roughly 100,000 new HUD Code homes would be produced. That would be less than 2021 or 2022. That estimated 101,247 new HUD Code manufactured homes would only be about 27.133565415 percent of the 373,143. That’s a data point difficult if not impossible to find on numbers of websites on the public side of the Manufactured Housing Institute website and/or MHI-linked trade publications and bloggers. For the most recent information, see the report linked here.
3) The fall of the mobile home turned manufactured home industry has been even more pronounced since the early 1970s. Who said? Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) member Champion Homes (SKY).
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5) MHLivingNews has shown the connection between Congressional hearings that probed the failure of the federal government to properly implement the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000 (a.k.a.: MHIA, 2000 Reform Act, 2000 Reform Law) would not have the same impact, or perhaps not have been made at all, had MHARR and MHARR members not stepped up to the plate to testify.
6) While the insiders at MHI have apparently thrown down in favor of Democrats and Democratic policies, instead of steering a nonpartisan approach that seeks to get good existing federal laws that were enacted in a bipartisan fashion to benefit manufactured housing sales and production, it should be clear that those MHI insiders believe that Democrats will benefit consolidation.
7) MHI has largely ignored the research by James A. “Jim” Schmitz and his colleagues at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve who claim that NAHB and HUD are working to limiting manufactured housing.
8) The industry has seen the happy talk of the Biden-Harris (D) years and the actual results. By contrast, Trump was and proclaims he is a president who will ‘enforce the law.’ That would prove to be useful to manufactured housing. See the related reports to learn more and check out our series onincreasingly popular series on the Patch. To fix what’s going wrong in MHVille, a rigged system has to be fixed. In this election, that means we must “swamp the vote.” Vote Wisely and if Possible, Vote Early! ##
Our son has grown quite a bit since this 12.2019 photo. All on Capitol Hill were welcoming and interested in our manufactured housing industry related concerns. But Congressman Al Green’s office was tremendous in their hospitality. Our son’s hand is on a package that included the Constitution of the United States, bottled water, and other goodies.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing.
For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.
This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
