Realtor? Journalist? Affordable Manufactured Home Production Jumps

Positive thinker, author, and speaker Zig Ziglar once observed: “The first step in solving a problem is to recognize that it does exist.” Speaking about the difference between the past and present, New Jersey based Edison Mobile Estates and Carteret Mobile Park marketing director Maria Dolan said, “It’s not your grandma’s trailer anymore.” Someone might think, well, Dolan is partisan. Okay, how about this observation by Dr. Harold D. Hunt, PhD, with The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. Dr. Hunt said in “Not Your Grandfather’s Trailer House” that: “Today's manufactured housing is energy efficient. Buyers, most of whom are focused on affordability, have the option to pick and choose among a wide array of efficiency options.”

The slain civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. keenly observed: “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character–that is the goal of true education.”

Let's think deeply and critically in this evidence-based op-ed, with the latest new manufactured home production data provided below courtesy of the Washington, D.C. based Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR).

From MHARR is the following press release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JULY 2024 STATISTICS SHOW HEALTHY

PRODUCTION INCREASE FOR THE HUD CODE MANUFACTURED HOME INDUSTRY

Washington, D.C., September 4, 2024 – The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) reports that according to official statistics compiled on behalf of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), HUD Code manufactured housing industry year-over-year production increased in July 2024. Just-released statistics indicate that HUD Code manufacturers produced 7,896 new homes in July 2024, a 28.7% increase over the 6,134 new HUD Code homes produced in July 2023. Cumulative production for 2024 now totals 59,061 homes, an 18% increase over the 50,022 HUD Code homes produced over the same period in 2023.

A further analysis of the official industry statistics shows that the top ten shipment states from January 2023 -- with monthly, cumulative, current reporting year (2024) and prior year (2023) shipments per category as indicated -- are:

The July 2024 statistics result in no changes to the cumulative top-ten list.

The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform is a Washington, D.C.- based national trade association representing the views and interests of independent producers of federally-regulated manufactured housing.

-- 30 –

Contact: MHARR (202) 783-4087

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MHARR is a producer's trade group. As the above clearly stated, they represent the interests of the builders of HUD Code manufactured housing.

By contrast, the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) says that they represent "all segments" of the manufactured home industry. That is sometimes described as both production and post-production, or as an "umbrella" style trade organization.

Every month, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) provides a monthly statement of data, which is different than MHARR's but similar in the sense that they advise the public about their profession's and the market's activities. As a trade publisher, on behalf of MHProNews and MHLivingNews, I asked for their media releases and was promptly placed on their mailing list. The screen capture below is per NAR and covers July 2024, the same month as the MHARR report above.

So, according to NAR, "July 2024 brought 3.95 million in [seasonally adjusted annual] sales, a median sales price of $422,600, and 4.0 months of inventory." Using Google instead of the back of a nearby napkin, NAR is basically saying that 3,950,000 SAAR (annualized) houses is about 329,166.66 existing homes sold per month.

Per MHARR, that 59,061 new manufactured homes /7 = 8437.2857 average monthly total U.S. production. Multiply that by 12 (for an approximate annualize rate) 8,437.2857 x 12 = 101,247.4284.

So, if the current pace is held, there will be about 101,247 new manufactured homes produced.

So, even though the national median sales price of an existing house (the median price naturally varies from place to place) is far more costly than a manufactured home, there is on average more than 3 times the number of existing homes sold in a month than the total number of manufactured homes that will be sold in the U.S. for a year.

Which trade group should be asked about that modest level of performance?

For researchers, journalists, or public officials, both MHARR and MHI should be asked. But MHARR is a producer's trade group. They have said that there are two main bottlenecks harming production. Those bottlenecks, says MHARR, are zoning barriers and the need for more competitive financing.

MHARR addresses these issues on a routine basis, even though they are properly "post production" issues that ought to be the focus of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI), which has said for years that they represent "all segments" of the industry.

On this date, from the MHI homepage, are the following quoted statements.

"Elevating Housing Innovation;

Expanding Attainable Homeownership

The Manufactured Housing Institute is the only national trade organization representing all segments of the factory-built housing industry. We are your trusted partner, advocate and industry leader.

Grow your business

Get the tools, platform and information you need..."

In the U.S., trade associations can file paperwork with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for nonprofit status. When doing so, certain statements are made under penalties of perjury. These are available online, but there is usually a time lag before they are made public. The screen capture of the one below was signed by Richard "Dick" Jennison, the prior President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MHI. Currently, Lesli Gooch, Ph.D., is the MHI CEO. Mark Bowersox is the Institute's president.

In Part I - Summary on the IRS 990 above MHI's Jennison made on behalf of MHI that their mission or most significant activities are as follows. For easier reading, I'm providing their copy without "all caps" and added the period. Otherwise, it is as shown above.

According to MHI their mission is to:

"Improve the overall operating environment for the manufactured housing industry and expand the demand for manufactured homes by seeking fair and equitable treatment in the marketplace and the regulatory and legislative arenas."

Let me make this clear. That's a very reasonable statement for a trade group. The question is, is MHI honoring that stated claim? The answer is troubling, and after multiple inquiries about reports like the more detailed on linked here, MHI has yet to respond to the concerns that are raised herein below and in related articles linked or crosslinked.

Note that also per that IRS form 990, MHI's board of directors reviews that document before it is filed. So, it isn't just Jennison or those who signed similar remarks that is potentially responsible for problematic behavior.

Frank Rolfe, as we noted earlier in this periodic series on the Patch, is a MHI member. Rolfe flatly said in writing that he blames MHI for the currently low production levels of the industry. Rolfe said sales of manufactured homes should be much better. Based on MHI's own remarks, and the evidence of the need during a well-documented affordable housing crisis, Rolfe seems to have a point. Then, Rolfe said that due to special interests, there is no serious effort to solve the affordable housing crisis. He alleges that a combination of business, political, and governmental may talk about solving the affordable housing crisis. But they have no serious intention of doing so, according to Rolfe.

Before we dig deeper into the troubling evidence from a range of documents and credible statements from named sources, let's note the following. This matters to literally tens of millions of Americans. Even those who may never seek or desire a manufactured home are being impacted by the lack of affordable housing. Certainly, those who want a manufactured home or other affordable housing are impacted.

If there wasn't another word written in this article, if there wasn't another additional graphic or link, what is already posted ought to be raising red flags in the minds of objective media, affordable housing sellers, advocates, and seekers of affordable homes. An MHI executive is already documented in this to have said under penalties of perjury that their association is to:

"Improve the overall operating environment for the manufactured housing industry and expand the demand for manufactured homes by seeking fair and equitable treatment in the marketplace and the regulatory and legislative arenas."

...then aren't they clearly failing at that mission?

If MHI's major members didn't like or want the status quo, then why are they tolerating this poor level of performance year after year in the 21st century?

The implications of this are far reaching. Mainstream media have interviewed or promoted MHI's CEO Gooch without raising these concerns. MHARR's leadership have been raising some of these issues with public officials and in manufactured housing industry circles for years. But MHI is multiple times MHARR's size and budget. So, MHARR's strategy seems to be to do the best they can documenting what they see with facts and evidence. MHARR's president and CEO, Mark Weiss, is an attorney. He knows that precision in language matters.

Some examples of holding MHI and/or public officials accountable for the currently low state of manufactured housing, consider these quotes. Danny Ghorbani is MHARR's founding president and CEO, and previously was a senior vice president at MHI. The post-production sector representation reference below is a description for MHI.

Weiss has lashed MHI, and/or made ongoing efforts with public officials to obtain enforcement of existing federal laws.

Manufactured housing ought to be soaring. But instead, it is lagging well behind where it was 25 years ago when the population was smaller, and legislation was enacted that was supposed to provide more affordable mainstream manufactured homes. How can MHI deny Rolfe's, Ghorbani's or other parties' allegations against them with a straight face?

The opportunities available in manufactured housing for producers, investors, housing sellers (including, but not limited to real estate agents), and advocates/seekers of affordable homes are impressive. But until this problematic pattern of behavior is unraveled and corrected, Rolfe may sadly be correct in his allegations. It seems that multiple parties want to see affordable housing throttled.

To learn more about these issues and their implications, see some of the prior articles in this periodic series. Links often provide evidence and more details.

Modern manufactured homes on private property, or in an honestly run land-lease, can be about half the cost of new conventional construction. That's U.S. Census Bureau data, not mine. Those homes above are manufactured homes. Look pretty much like other houses you drive by during the course of your day, don't they?

Not all manufactured homes look alike. There are more and less costly models. There are larger and smaller models. I've been in multiple level manufactured homes, meaning 'two story' manufactured homes, or a manufactured home over a basement (not in FL, but in other states where basements are more common). Look again at what Dr. Hunt's photo looked like and the captions in his report for those probing the real estate and housing market.

Why are so many of these items not found on the MHI website? Reporters and researchers, there have been numbers of useful reports by mainstream media on corruption that have often involved members of MHI. Some examples are shown below.

• The Atlantic,
• The Nation,
• Center for Public Integrity,
• The Seattle Times,
• GuruFocus,
• BuzzFeed News,
• Austin Frerick while at the Open Markets Institute.

But there is more work to do.

We opened with a quote from Zig Ziglar. The first thing necessary to solve a problem is to acknowledge that it does exist. The next steps are to see what the underlying causes of that problem are. Once a problem is understood, then solutions can be acted on. IMHO, much of what is needed is enforcement of existing laws.

For those interested in an affordable home in the near term, no one has to wait to identify an honest business that cares about their customers to do business with them.

But as much as I'm a true believer in the potential and reality of HUD Code manufactured housing, I'm also a realist. Don't just do business with anyone. Every profession has bad apples. Smiles and backslapping may prove nothing good. Do your homework. We have articles and videos on MHLivingNews that give tips on how to find the right companies in your area to do business with.

More evidence and expert analysis on what's behind the curtain in the manufactured housing industry and how this impacts the affordable housing crisis are planned in this series. Stay tuned. ###

L. A. “Tony” Kovach and his family live in a manufactured home in Winter Haven, FL. He is the co-founder of ManufacturedHomeProNews.com and ManufacturedHomeLivingNews.com, trade publications serving segments of the manufactured home industry. Having worked in several aspects of the industry for over 3 decades, Kovach is a widely acknowledged and often praised expert on manufactured housing.