This Week In Manufactured Housing News: November 27th – December 2nd
Changes on the local, regional and national level abounded for manufactured housing this week, including some significant steps towards making prefab homes more accessible at every price point. Read below for the latest updates, from Montana to Missouri.
Long Read of the Week. In a months-long investigation as part of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, a reporter for TIME followed a group of tenants in Upstate New York as they worked to become a resident-owned community.
Big Changes for Freddie Mac. In late breaking Friday news, Freddie Mac will now allow conventional mortgages for manufactured homes in a two-year pilot program known as CHOICEHomes. “Today’s manufactured homes can deliver outstanding quality at prices that are up to 50% less per square foot than conventional site-built homes,” Freddie Mac noted. “These savings can enable more Americans to own their own home, even in the face of an ever-widening housing affordability gap.”
Popular—But Not Pricey. A Springfield, Missouri outlet explores the recent rise in popularity for manufactured housing in the region. “Six years running, it’s just more and more people as the word gets out, what is available. Most people come into this home, and they go, ‘Oh my goodness, I can’t believe that this home, I’m thinking of a trailer house.’ They just have no concept of what today’s manufactured and modular homes look like.”
A Silver Lining in Texas. Those still living in FEMA-provided manufactured homes in the wake of Hurricane Harvey’s 2017 devastation will now be given the option the buy the properties.
A New Neighborhood in Big Sky Country. Livingston, Montana will soon be getting a new community of manufactured homes after a series of zoning changes inspired by the desire to provide more attractive, affordable housing for the area.
