Snakes! Cavco Insider Act$. Bi-Partisan Policy Center on Manufactured Housing Modular Homes and Other Factory-Built Housing; plus Sunday Weekly MHVille Headlines in Review
“The U.S. has a housing shortage from years of underbuilding, leading to increasingly unaffordable housing costs,” said the Bi-Partisan Policy Center in a report on the need for “Zoning Reforms.” “While overall housing construction has not kept up with demand, entry-level or “starter” homes for first-time homebuyers are in especially short supply. Factory-built housing, which includes various construction techniques and products, could help fill the supply gap. However, increasing the supply of factory-built housing would require a concerted effort to reform land use and zoning policies that restrict their broader adoption.” More on that familiar theme shortly in Part II, but next up and featured in Part I after a preface on “snakes” is the news that yet another Cavco Industries “insider” has sold hundreds of thousands of dollars in CVCO stocks.
Snakes in Western or Judeo-Christian influenced societies and in other cultures too has long had an image of duplicity, of ‘speaking with a forked tongue’ or other negative devilish or Satanic imagery. Evangelical Focus said: “Among the most dangerous snakes for human beings that can still be found in Israel are the following: the black desert cobra, the Palestine viper, the Palestine ladder snake, the horned desert viper.” That post notes that “the great dragon, the ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world”, according to the apostle John (Rev. 12:9). Often deadly snakes are mentioned in the Old and New Testament dozens of times all told. Matthew 12:34 is translated as follows, according to Bible Hub.
New International Version
You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
New Living Translation
You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.
English Standard Version
You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
There are dozens more, but that’s sufficient to make the point that snakes or vipers, often deadly and thus dangerous, are not to be trusted. Just as the first Biblical book of Genesis forbade lies and deception, so too did Jesus make it clear that deceptive language should prudently be spotted, grasped, and thus avoided.
With that in mind, let’s pivot to Part I about the latest Cavco insider trade and Part II from the Bi-Partisan Policy Center before moving on to brief remarks on why the two are both relevant to the manufactured housing industry’s professionals and investors in this sector of the housing market.
Part I – According to Tip Ranks on 2.12.2025
JACK S BRANDOM, the President of Financial Services at Cavco Industries, has recently sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock. This transaction was valued at a total of $538,000.
Despite several ‘positive’ signals cite for the company, that report said this.
Technical Sentiment Consensus Rating: Sell
The financial and stock news site Market Beat said on 2.15.2025 this in a bold headline.
Cavco Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVCO) Insider Jack S. Brandom Sells 1,000 Shares
Other insider recent insider sales by Cavco Industries leaders are found in the headlines for the week in review in Part III. That report will go into greater detail on the possible implications of Cavco insiders consistently selling instead of buying.
Part II – From the Bi-Partisan Policy Center Report on “Zoning Reforms to Support Factory-Built Housing” by Kenza Janati and Emma Waters.
What is factory-built housing?
Unlike traditional site-built housing, where construction materials are brought to a site and assembled, factory-built housing is assembled in a factory, then shipped to a site and installed. A variety of terms are used to describe different types of factory-built housing and related construction techniques. Below is a table of key terms and definitions.
Manufactured housing is a specific type of factory-built housing that meets national standards set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), known as the HUD Code. This code generally preempts local building codes, allowing manufactured housing to be produced at scale and marketed nationwide. Although federal preemption of state and local codes benefits HUD-code-compliant manufactured housing, local governments, in particular, significantly influence where these homes can be placed within their jurisdictions.
The HUD Code does not apply to modular or other types of factory-built housing. These homes must adhere to the specific local codes of the final location, regardless of where they are produced.
Key Terms and Definitions
Factory-built housing or prefabricated housing refers to homes constructed either fully or partially in a factory and then assembled onsite. This category includes manufactured and modular homes.
Off-site construction is the process of building a home, either fully or partially, in a factory, rather than constructing it entirely on a lot.
Manufactured housing refers to a complete house constructed off-site in a factory to meet HUD Code requirements, allowing it to be transported anywhere in the country. Manufactured homes are built on a permanent chassis which is used to transport them but can be placed on a traditional foundation at their final location.
Mobile homes are manufactured homes built before June 15, 1976, when the HUD Code went into effect. These homes cannot be retroactively brought into compliance with the HUD Code and are therefore considered separate from modern manufactured homes, which meet current HUD requirements.
Modular housing consists of large pieces (or modules) of a home including not only walls, floors, and ceilings, but plumbing, wiring, and interior finishes as well. These modules are built in a factory and then transported to their final location, where they are assembled on a traditional foundation. Modular homes are built to meet local code requirements.
Panelized construction involves fully building the walls of a home, or panels, in a factory and then transporting them to the building site. At the site, the panels are put together and finished similarly to a site-built home, and the structure is placed on a traditional foundation.
Pre-cut construction involves cutting all materials for a home to size in a factory. These materials are then transported to the building site and assembled as they would be in a site-built house.
Factory-built housing is often quicker and less expensive to build than site-built housing. For example, a manufactured home can be 50% cheaper to produce than a site-built home. Freddie Mac estimates that more than one million people would be able to qualify for a mortgage and afford a manufactured home if zoning regulations were relaxed. However, despite their potential to address the housing shortage, only about 7.5% of existing homes and 9% of new homes in the U.S. are manufactured, and the number of modular homes is even lower.
Zoning as a Barrier to Accessing Factory-built Housing
States and localities have their own design requirements for homes and land use regulations. Many jurisdictions have implemented zoning rules such as minimum lot size requirements, aesthetic specifications for roofs and foundations, and special permit conditions that impact where prefabricated homes can be placed. A study evaluating factory-built zoning laws in 825 jurisdictions across 32 states found that 57% of these jurisdictions required lot sizes larger than half an acre. Because land costs can significantly impact the overall cost of a factory-built home, large lot size requirements further limit potential homebuyers who could otherwise afford the home.
Research shows that stricter residential land use regulations in a state are associated with fewer manufactured housing units being shipped to that state and a lower share of manufactured home loans as a percentage of total loans.
Examples of State and Local Government Actions to Reduce Zoning Barriers for Prefabricated Housing
Cities and states across the country are reevaluating existing zoning laws to see if more flexibility could boost housing production. The two jurisdictions highlighted below concluded that land use and zoning reform was necessary to facilitate the construction of a wider variety of housing types.
Jumping ahead in their report linked here that is dated 9.30.2024 is this.
To increase the supply of affordable housing, Maine’s legislature recently passed a bill amending regulations for manufactured housing (H.P.211 – L.D.337). The bill ensures that manufactured homes are permitted wherever single-family dwellings are allowed and subjects them to the same requirements as site-built homes.
The Bi-Partisan Policy Center Report on “Zoning Reforms to Support Factory-Built Housing” by Kenza Janati and Emma Waters is in some ways perhaps better as an introduction to the topic of factory-built housing in general and manufactured homes than the article below that begins with the words “Poor Fool” report also found among the headlines for the week in review. But each suffers from similar defects, as the report on Saturday 2.15.2025 linked below will detail. What is missing from the manufactured housing industry perspective in terms of the legalities that matter in that report below is also missing from the “Zoning Reforms to Support Factory-Built Housing” report by Janti and Waters.
Part III – Additional Facts, Information, Plus the Sunday Weekly MHVille Headlines in Review
Note that the Bi-Partisan Policy Center report pointed to Freddie Mac research like this: “Freddie Mac estimates that more than one million people would be able to qualify for a mortgage and afford a manufactured home if zoning regulations were relaxed.” That figure of potential manufactured home buyers is arguably low, based on several other researched items, including what Freddie Mac said in that linked research, which was cited by the Bi-Partisan Policy Center from Manufactured Home Living News (MHLivingNews) at this link here. Which is to say that Janati and Waters were metaphorically ‘inches’ away from the obvious solution to these problems they just detailed. Namely, enforcement of existing federal laws. That same Freddie Mac document is found on MHProNews at this link here. That noted, here is how Mark Weiss, J.D., President and CEO of the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) phrased what must be done to deal with the zoning and financial “bottlenecks” or barriers that are discussed by various sources for years.
MHProNews note: articles that may seem similar, and in some ways may be similar, between topics covered on the Patch or one of our other platforms routinely have distinct information and insights. Restated, they are not mere duplicates but are tailored.
1) Is greater sanity and more objectivity returning to our society? It is an important question. Because common sense or objective realities are important to discern what even on the surface makes sense vs what even on the surface ought to be questioned or doubted. For example, with respect to Cavco and the subject raised earlier in this article, are the following added observations.
2) Cavco has pitched to their investors via their Investor Relations (IR) presentation that they are a sound investment for a variety of reasons, including the pressings needs of the affordable housing crisis. Hmm…okay, true enough.
3) That said, Cavco’s IR pitch arguably leaves out some key information and/or inserts claims that are demonstrably questionable, misleading, and arguably can be seen as deceptive. For example. This claim below from Cavco’s IR pitch is seemingly just wrong. That makes it a potentially materially misleading remark from the SEC’s definition.
Base image is from the Cavco Industries November 2023 Investor Relations ‘pitch deck’ or presentation. Satirical “Proud Member of Machiavellian Housing Institute” (i.e.: Manufactured Housing Institute or MHI) with its modified MHI tag line: “The National Association Serving Consolidators of the Manufactured Housing Industry” was added by MHProNews, but Cavco Industries is a “proud” MHI member. Call out boxes and arrows are added by MHProNews as part of this fact check and analysis.
4) The information from the Bi-Partisan Policy Center cited above reflects the vexing reality that manufactured housing faces an array of zoning barriers across the country. Based on what evidence is Cavco trying to assert that zoning barriers are easing? Is it because MHI said so? If so, why is the industry’s production still only about 27 percent of what it was in 2024 compared to what the industry produced in 1998?
5) If the industry’s recovering (as measured organically by production) as opposed to consolidating due to barriers of various sorts, then why is it that years of evidence from Cavco insiders reflects only selling of their stock instead of at least some insider buying?
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6) While MHProNews, MHLivingNews, and MHARR have all made the point that manufactured housing is underperforming during an affordable housing crisis.
The U.S. has a housing shortage from years of underbuilding, leading to increasingly unaffordable housing costs. While overall housing construction has not kept up with demand, entry-level or “starter” homes for first-time homebuyers are in especially short supply. Factory-built housing, which includes various construction techniques and products [that includes manufactured homes], could help fill the supply gap. However, increasing the supply of factory-built housing would require a concerted effort to reform land use and zoning policies that restrict their broader adoption.
7) Clearly, there is a tremendous need for millions of more affordable housing units, many or perhaps even most of which could be HUD Code manufactured homes. There is also clearly specific barriers that people in and out of our industry are aware of which are not being properly addressed. While the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) dances, prances, and romances the industry and others with dazzling claims and posturing of various types, the reality is that the industry is not achieving its potential. It becomes even more apparent that this is not an accident, but rather a feature of those who are posturing.
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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.
