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Homeownership Raises Wealth-Lowers Poverty-Reasons Cavco Study Matters

Report Probing Cavco Industries (CVCO) Claims Reveal Why Investors, Public Officials, Affordable Home Advocates, Renters-Owners Should Care

One of the more detailed probes by a human expert bolstered by artificial intelligence (AI) fact checks and analysis is published at this link here. That article revealed eye-opening insights into the often mysterious world of the lack of U.S. affordable housing. A publicly traded company named Cavco Industries (CVCO) is based in Phoenix AZ. Cavco has locations in states including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, Virginia, Minnesota, Indiana, Oklahoma and beyond. Cavco is among those that aptly claim that at least 6 million affordable housing units are needed in the U.S. and that the lack of affordable housing costs the U.S. economy some two trillion dollars annually. If you or someone you know is impacted by the lack of affordable housing, or is dreaming of home ownership, this introductory article by this writer for MHProNews and in this "Reality Check" series for this Patch is thus useful for greater understanding of the causes and cures to the lack of affordable housing.

To set the stage for what follows are the following facts from recent items by and about Cavco.

Research reveals that millions misunderstand manufactured housing, which they think about a new name for the trailer houses or mobile homes of yesteryear. As a result, mortgage giant Freddie Mac has done a series of reports, including those provided and explored in the articles linked below, that debunk the common notions about modern manufactured homes. Perhaps as a result of the growing affordable housing crisis, even though the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) own research revealed that they have done an arguably poor job of promoting the industry, nevertheless Freddie Mac found that most Americans would consider buying a manufactured home.

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https://www.manufacturedhomeli...

https://www.manufacturedhomeli...

Find out what's happening in Lakelandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

In a speech found on the HUD website and in a report at this link here is the following: "millions of hardworking Americans who seek affordable rents or sustainable homeownership simply cannot get their foot in the door. We have reached the point where many of our nation's teachers, nurses, police officers, and firefighters struggle to live in or around the communities they serve.

What they face is a critical shortage in our country's supply of affordable homes. This is not just a housing crisis - it has a human face.

Homes are at the heart of building strong families, strong communities, and ultimately, a strong country."

That was expressed by prior Trump Administration era HUD Secretary Ben Carson.

Dr. Carson pointed to an array of facts that underscored why affordable home ownerships and manufactured housing are important. Note, someone may or may not be a fan of Dr. Carson or of President Trump to focus on the facts and insights he shared while he led the organization charged with overseeing much of the activity of the manufactured housing industry.

As MHProNews and MHLivingNews have carefully documented for our readers over a period of years the Manufactured Housing Institute routinely is missing remarks by HUD Sec. Ben Carson, even though some of those remarks were delivered to Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) members. That should beg the question: why is that so? Why does MHI fail to share on their own website often useful and positive remarks about modern HUD Code manufactured homes?

Note that while the cost per square foot has risen since then due to Biden-Harris (D) era inflation, the savings on a cost per square foot basis holds. Dr. Carson said the following.

"Affordable Housing

Our nation's shortage of affordable housing is ultimately an issue of supply and demand. With millions of people in need, high demand is already guaranteed. That's why HUD has focused our strategy on increasing supply - namely, by promoting initiatives, programs, techniques, and technologies that produce more affordable homes.

Since the key constraint on supply is the cost of new construction and development, the solution to the problem is to change the cost side of the equation.
Manufactured housing has emerged out of the limestone and stepped into the limelight, to address precisely this need.

According to MHI reports, the average cost per square foot of a manufactured home is nearly half that of a site-built home - $49 [dollars] per square foot, as opposed to $107 [dollars]. These dramatic cost savings in construction enable responsible citizens to secure housing that may be considerably less expensive than renting or purchasing a site-built home."

The illustration that follows was not provided by Dr. Carson or HUD. Nor was it provided by MHI, rather, it has been featured by the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) in some of their press releases.

Now comes a key part of Dr. Carson's address as it relates to Cavco and their role in the manufactured home industry.

"And yet, even at this lower price, manufactured homes appreciate in value at a rate similar to site-built homes, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency Housing Price Index. Sustainable homeownership is the number one builder of financial capital for most American families. For example, the average net worth of a renter is $5,000 [dollars], while the average net worth of a homeowner is $200,000 [dollars]. That's an extraordinary 40-fold difference. But with comparable home appreciation rates to site-built homes, manufactured homes exhibit their own extraordinary potential to be a wealth creation tool for ordinary, everyday American families."

So, when Cavco said that manufactured housing could be important in avoiding intergenerational poverty, or by implication, building household wealth, they could have (didn't, but could have) cited Dr. Carson's potent remarks.

The above is from page 4 of a Cavco investor relations pitch. The annotations are by Manufactured Home Pro News (MHProNews). All of those points ought to be a steady drum beat from the Manufactured Housing Institute, which this year has William "Bill" Boor - Cavco's CEO - as its chairman. Prior to Boor, Leo Poggione was MHI's chairman, and Poggione heads a location that was purchased by Cavco.

Restated, for four years, Cavco has and will have key spots in the leadership of MHI.

Cavco is a large player in the production, retailing, and financing of HUD Code manufactured housing and some other forms of factory housing production too.

Per Cavco’s January 2025 Investor Relations report Cavco operates 31 production lines.
According to Cavco’s 2024 annual report, they operate 79 retail locations across the U.S.

In a report that unpacked a Cavco 2023 investor’s relations document, Cavco asserted that the lack of affordable housing in the United States costs the U.S. economy some $2 trillion dollars per year.

Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) said this.

"Unaffordable housing decreases job retention and lowers productivity. It can force businesses to relocate, taking job opportunities with them. A lack of available housing reduces local tax revenue, reducing local resources for education, public safety, and infrastructure.

Nationwide, the shortage of affordable housing opportunities costs the American economy an estimated $2 trillion each year. High housing costs reduce disposable income and economic mobility, stifling economic opportunities."

Whitehouse also said this.

"Helping families have a safe, stable place to call home should not be controversial. It’s not red state versus blue state, not urban versus rural; Americans in all 50 states struggle with higher housing costs. Today, there is not a state, metropolitan area, or county where a worker earning the local minimum wage at 40 hours a week can afford a modest two-bedroom rental at HUD’s Fair Market Rate standard.

As a nation, we have underinvested in housing; it’s created a harmful situation for millions of families, and it is a significant drag on our economy.

We can and must take action to ensure housing is safe and affordable for all."

So Republican Carson and Democrat Whitehouse have said similar things to what Cavco is pitching to their investors.

But when someone looks at what has been occurring in the manufactured housing industry, what the facts reveal isn't encourating, rather, it is sobering.

Cavco has published and expressed a series of contradictory remarks. That's not how publicly traded companies are supposed to operate. They are supposed to give clear and materially accurate and correct information. Publicly traded corporate leaders and board members are supposed to have the best interests of the shareholders in mind. When apparently contradictory statements and actions are in evidence, there are reasons to question management and their motivates. Furthermore, when moves are made that are contary to the interests of investors or other stakeholders, others should step in and demand PUBLIC answers.

https://www.manufacturedhomepr...

Cavco has already had one scandal, and perhaps ironically, that became public during the first term of Donald Trump's presidency.

https://www.manufacturedhomepr...

But there may be another parallel between Trump 1.0 and Trump 2.0, Cavco, and MHI. It was Joe Stegmayer, the now disgraced Cavco's chairman and a prior chair for MHI, who introduced Dr. Carson in his address quoted from the websites linked above. Will it be Bill Boor introducing HUD Secretary Scott Turner next month in Orlando? Will the controversies of the past blow up on Cavco and others in the near future?

https://www.manufacturedhomeli...

See the deeper dive into Cavco linked here. It will outline insider selling (instead of buying) and an array of facts and evidence that includes insights from AI fact-checks. Allegations of antitrust, RICO, and SEC violations are among the topics explored.

Don't miss it.

Millions are harmed by the lack of affordable housing.

Millions could benefit from greater access to more affordable mainstream manufactured homes.

More on the lack of affordable housing, some more about Cavco, plus other topics that have little or nothing to do with housing follow. Thanks for checking in for this installment of the "Reality Check" series for this Patch.

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L. A. “Tony” Kovach is a publisher who has earned multiple awards in history. He and his family live in a manufactured home on private property in Winter Haven, FL. He is the co-founder of Manufactured Home Living News.com (MHLivingNews.com) and Manufactured Home Pro News.com (MHProNews.com), trade publications serving segments of the manufactured home industry. Having worked in several segments of the manufactured home industry for over 3 decades, Kovach is a widely acknowledged and often praised expert on manufactured housing. ###

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Homeownership Raises Wealth-Lowers Poverty-Reasons Cavco Study Matters

Report Probing Cavco Industries (CVCO) Claims Reveal Why Investors, Public Officials, Affordable Home Advocates, Renters-Owners Should Care

L. A. "Tony" Kovach, Neighbor

Find out what's happening in Lakelandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

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