Facts Supporting Outstanding Quality And Affordability Of Today’s Manufactured Homes

The following is an overview of manufactured housing industry facts compiled by the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI), supporting the high quality and affordability of today’s manufactured homes.— Additional sources include U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 American Community Survey—

MANUFACTURED HOUSING FACTS

Production:

• The manufactured housing industry produced 105,772 new homes in 2021, approximately 9% of new, single-family home starts.

• The average sales price of a new manufactured home without land is $106,590
• 73% of new manufactured homes are placed on private property and 27% are placed in manufactured home communities.
• All aspects of construction are continually inspected by professionally trained third-party inspectors.
• Manufactured homes are constructed to adhere to the federal HUD Code since 1976. The HUD Code regulates home design and construction, strength and durability, fire resistance, and energy efficiency. HUD revised the building code in the early 1990s to enhance energy efficiency and ventilation standards and to improve the wind resistance of manufactured homes in areas of hurricane-force winds.

Amenities:

•  Floor plans are available that range from basic to elaborate – vaulted or tray ceilings, fully equipped kitchens, walk-in closets, and luxurious bathrooms.
• A variety of exterior siding is available – metallic, vinyl, wood, or hardboard and stucco.
• Our industry has also launched a new class of homes known as CrossMod that are indistinguishable from site-built homes, with pitched roofs with shingles and gabled ends, porches, garages, permanent foundations, and more.

Safety:

•  The building materials in today’s manufactured homes are the same as those in site-built homes.
• The homes are engineered for wind safety and energy efficiency.
• Manufactured homes are among the safest housing choices available today due to federal laws requiring smoke detectors, escape windows, and limited combustible materials around furnaces, water heaters, and kitchen ranges.

Financing:

•  Manufactured homes can be financed as personal property. Even when the home and land are financed together, the home can be secured as personal property and the land as real property. Traditional manufactured home personal property lenders offer land and home financing.
• Homebuyers may also finance their home and land together as real property using conventional mortgage financing obtained through a traditional mortgage lender.
• Financing programs are available through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for CrossMod homes that provide borrowers with traditional financing options, lower interest rates, and allow for site-built comparisons in the appraisal process. The need for quality, affordable housing has never been greater. Today’s manufactured homes can deliver outstanding quality and performance at prices that are up to 50 percent less per square foot than conventional site-built homes. These savings allow more and more Americans to own their own home, even in the face of an ever-widening housing affordability gap.