“The coronavirus pandemic has given many Americans more job flexibility – and, in turn, tens of millions plan to relocate. About 14 to 23 million households, or as many as 11.5%, said they planned to relocate to another city or region, according to a study from job marketplace Upwork, with a higher percentage of residents in major cities (20.6%) saying they planned to do so,” right-of-center Fox News reported.
That new Upwork research reveals that millions of Americans are planning to leave cities for more suburban or rural areas.
A closer look at their report uncovers several possible bright spots for manufactured home retailers, and thus producers or others in the manufactured housing industry’s services chain.
Fox said Upwork’s research points to “one of the biggest motivators, for more than half of households, was the desire to live in a house that was at least 10% more affordable, the study showed.”
“As our survey shows, many people see remote work as an opportunity to relocate to where they want and where they can afford to live,” Upwork chief economist Adam Ozimek said in a statement. “This is an early indicator of the much larger impacts that remote work could have in increasing economic efficiency and spreading opportunity.”
Upwork indicated that the majority of people also planned to make their move to a home two hours or more from their current location.
Manufactured Housing Trade Insights
The latest missive from the Arlington, VA based Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) doesn’t mention that mainstream media report on the housing trend above. Why not? Isn’t that a trend that should be tapped into by a post-production ‘umbrella’ trade organization?
State-by-State Manufactured Home Production, Shipment Data – October 2020 Report and Analysis
Nor did any of the MHI’s emails to members reviewed by MHProNews mention the latest manufactured housing production and shipment data, found at this links above and below. Why not? Do the facts fail to fit their narrative?
“More Punitive Regulatory” Regime Looms Warns New Manufactured Housing Industry Insider
These COVID19 (a.k.a. what President Trump calls the “China Virus,” others the coronavirus, et al.) inspired trends that Upwork and Fox reported may spell bad news for major cities like New York and San Francisco. However, Ozimek said the migration will lead to greater economic efficiency and an equalization of opportunity throughout the U.S. Far more expensive mainstream housing is surging. Why is manufactured housing so sluggish, if MHI is doing such a fine job, as they claim?
Hopeful News! Builder Confidence Grows, Views from Mainstream and Manufactured Housing
If the MHI pushed ‘new class’ of homes were as good as they claim, why do the reports all indicate that those CrossModTM model homes aren’t those taking off either? Put differently, where is the evidence that MHI’s claims hold water based on marketplace data?
As has been previously reported by Fox Business, MHProNews, or others in media, these escapes from San Francisco and Manhattan have resulted in gluts of vacant apartments. Rental prices have plunged in those markets.
- In San Francisco, the price of a one-bedroom apartment fell more than 24% in September. In Manhattan, prices fell by 15.4%.
- Overall, Fox reported that in the 100 largest U.S. cities, average one-bedroom rents fell 1% year-over- year during the same time period.
What Fox didn’t note in this specific report is that business shutdowns, violence in cities, as well as remote work options are all among the contributing factors to this pattern. Yes, remote works makes such moves more possible, but that alone doesn’t explain the drivers behind the trends.
Additional Information, MHProNews Analysis and Commentary
When Harry M. Markopolos began the research odyssey that led him to conclude that billionaire Bernard “Bernie” Madoff was a sophisticated Ponzi scheme, his initial clue was seemingly rather tame. Markopolos noted that the lines in Madoff’s literature were too straight.
“CHASING MADOFF is the compelling true story of Harry Markopolos and his team’s ten-year struggle to expose the harrowing truth behind the infamous Madoff scandal,” says the YouTube page for the official video ‘trailer’ for docu-drama below.
Razzle Dazzle, the Big Lie, and the Big Con
For some time, the authorities blew Markopolos and his warnings off. But finally, his warnings began to gain traction, and in time the Madoff con job unraveled. While the schemes were different, Enron and WorldCom also employed the “razzle dazzle.” They had the ‘respectable’ look and feel of legitimacy. Each of the three multi-billion dollar con jobs were seemingly successful for years. Each of the three mega-cons included favorable connections with political figures. Much of the media fawned over each. Madoff, Enron, and WorldCom largely escaped regulatory or other scrutiny for years.
Against that backdrop, it must be stressed that what is arguably the Warren Buffett led Berkshire Hathaway coalition of “MHInsiders” has both similarities but also distinct elements to the three mega-cons examples shared above. What is similar, is that certain politicians, media, trade media, and regulatory operations have failed to definitively blow the whistle and act. To be sure, there have been some warnings in media or among politicians. But the warnings resulted in referrals that went to this or that bureaucratic maze where they have not been heard much of since. Are the Wheels of Justice merely grinding slowly? Or are proper investigations and justice occurring at all?
There are numerous voices, several with obvious MHI ties, that are blowing the whistle.
Meanwhile, MHI continues to posture as if all was well. Only there are several clues that when examined reveal that all is not well. While there are obviously people on both sides of the mainstream aisle in manufactured housing professionally, plus some that back third-party candidates, there are reasons why MHI has taken stances that the Trump White House pushed back against. Longtime readers are reminded that days before the 2016 election, MHI placed not one, but two pro-Secretary Hillary Clinton speakers on their stage in Chicago. MHI also tried to explain why Democrats would win in 2016. Clearly, they were proven wrong.
Why, for instance, has MHI downplayed or ignored recent manufactured home production and shipment reporting? They used to email that out to their members and readers. Why did that quietly stop? Did the data fail to support their narratives?
The manufactured home industry is not unique in this respect. There are numerous sources that share counter-narratives that are agenda driven. See what Glen Greenwald – a progressive – is saying about his own profession, journalism, in an interview from last night.
While it isn’t certain, based on his accent, there are reasons to think that the black man in the interview posted below is an immigrant to the U.S., which is fine. Consider his clarity of thought.
Sometimes newcomers see things more clearly than those who have been raised in a cultural soup. Earlier this week, this writer via MHProNews made a simple point. Why is MHI going the long way around on issues that should be clear cut and simple?
Manufactured housing has good laws that need to be implemented. There is no need for elaborate coalitions that are arguably working against the interests of manufactured housing industry independents and millions of current and potential consumers. See the detailed analysis above. The industry is arguably being undermined from within. MHI apologists like Tim Williams, or MHI themselves, are not willing to publicly debate their own performance and behavior. If they had confidence in their claims, what is holding them back?
There are reasons why “The Big Lie” and friendly con jobs are used. They can work. But it is also true that in time, they are often proven to be the “razzle dazzle” con jobs that whistleblowers warned against.
There is always more to related reports to read and more insights to come that sheds light on why affordable manufactured housing is so badly underperforming during an affordable housing crisis. Stay tuned with the runaway number one source for authentic “News through the lens of manufactured homes and factory-built housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © ## (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) (See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)
By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHProNews.com.
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.
Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
Related References:
The text/image boxes below are linked to other reports, which can be accessed by clicking on them.
“More Punitive Regulatory” Regime Looms Warns New Manufactured Housing Industry Insider
