Slovenian architectural studio Coodo has designed a series of modules that can be coupled horizontally or vertically to provide large household space, or used separately for a playroom or guest house. The thick polyester panels stretched over a galvanized steel frame provide thermal insulation. Two modules can comprise a two …
With manufactured housing increasing production nine consecutive months, as MHProNews has noted previously, smallcapnetwork says the time might be ripe to get into the manufacturing and modular housing market. Cavco Industries (NASDAQ:CVCO) reports net sales for the entire fiscal year 2012 hit $443,066,000, an increase of 156% over last year, …
Bloomberg News says following the burst of the housing bubble that put almost 25 percent of U. S. mortgages underwater, home equity in the first quarter rose to $6.7 trillion, its highest level since 2008, as homeowners refinanced their mortgages in droves, the biggest jump, percentage wise, in 60 years. …
Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies says the $2.8 trillion rise in household wealth last quarter, state revenues expecting to exceed pre-recession levels of five years ago, and the nation’s service sector continuing to grow all trump the static unemployment rate and Europe’s debt crisis, and indicate an economy …
Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) says the low interest rates led to mortgage applications climbing by 18 percent on a sequential basis for the week ending June 8, 2012, according to NationalMortgageNews, a rate not seen since April 2009. MHProNews.com has learned the increase is seasonally adjusted. Although refinancings accounted for …
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) states the number of metropolitan areas displaying sustained and measurable improvement for at least six straight months fell from 100 in May to 80 this month. Of the 100, 52 remain on the list, and the 28 added …
OriginationNews tells MHProNews.com primarily as the result of lost home equity, the median net worth of American families plummeted from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 in 2010, a drop of 38.8 percent in just three years. According to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances in 2010, three-fourths of the …
EmergingMoney tells MHProNews.com the result of falling oil prices is cheaper financing and less expensive materials, which helps the global real estate market. Lower priced oil means: Lower transportation costs for material shipments and commuters; generally lower rate of inflation which helps keep interest rates down; lower costs of home …
Moody’s Analytics says in HousingWire stagnant income growth and lack of adequate down payment is driving rental demand higher, with rents increasing five percent in the larger metropolitan markets, and climbing. Multifamily properties of five or more units saw vacancies fall from 12.5 percent at the start of 2010 to …
Core Logic tells MHProNews.com the reason the supply of homes dropped from a nine month average last June to 6.5 months April 2012 is because there are 11 million borrowers underwater who are unable to unload their homes, which restricts supply and increases the price of existing homes for sale. …
According to a Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) survey, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 3.87%, the lowest rate since MBA started the survey, while the 30-year fixed-rate jumbo loan (greater than $417,500) fell to 4.13%, also the lowest in the survey’s history. Meanwhile, says NationalMortgageNews, applications to refinance loans …
According to HousingWire, the U.S. Census Bureau’s report on “Characteristics of New Housing for 2011” indicates the housing market may be slowly stabilizing. Twenty percent of all new single-family homes were financed by an FHA-insured loan, five percent less than in 2010, and four percent less than 2009. Conventional loans …
CalgaryHerald reports from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Igloo Prebuilt Homes in Acheson turns out a modular home each day. The “balanced air” model can save $300/mth in energy costs without a furnace. The walls are twice as thick as a conventional home with six-inch thick mineral wool insulation, producing an R-45 …
GreenBuilderMag tells MHProNews.com Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies will release its annual State of the Nation’s Housing 2012 on June 14, 2012 from 11 AM to noon at the Ford Foundation Board Room on E. 43rd St. in Manhattan. The periodic assessment of the nation’s housing outlook provides …
The Wisconsin Housing Alliance tells MHProNews.com data gathered by the American Banker’s Association’s (ABA) Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin loan delinquencies for manufactured housing dropped to 3.76% from 4.08% during Q4 2011. While the ABA says a delinquency is 30 or more days past due, TransUnion, the third largest credit bureau …
FoxBusiness reports gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual 1.9 percent in the first quarter of the year according to the Commerce Department, down from 3.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011. Excluding inventory values, which fell in the first quarter, the economy grew at a rate of …
CNNMoney reports two economist have studied 600,000 housing transactions near 159 new Walmart stores and determined home prices rose 2-3 percent in the two and a half years following the opening of a new Walmart within half a mile. Economists Jaren Pope at Brigham Young University and Devin Pope at …
HousingWire says CoreLogic reports half of the 66,000 foreclosures completed in April were from five states: California, Florida, Michigan, Texas and Georgia, in that order. The National Foreclosure Report says the April rate compares to 78,000 a year ago. Since the housing downturn in Sept. 2008 3.6 million foreclosures have …
The lights in the housing market in Phoenix suddenly became very bright, according to a report from Keefe, Bruyette, and Woods (KBW) that HousingWire picked up. Following discussions with home builders, banks, and developers, KBW says new home building permits are expected to rise 50 percent in 2012 , as …
RVBusiness tells MHProNews.com a survey of Americans in May indicates consumer confidence rose to the highest level since Oct. 2007. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index rose from 76.4 in April to 79.3 in May, the ninth consecutive increase. The study showed 63 percent of respondents may be considering making …
