Homeownership is the primary form of wealth for low-income and minority households. However, factors such as tight lending standards that continue to limit mortgage access for households with lower credit scores, more households feeling the burden of large amounts of student debt, and the stock of affordable housing continuing to shrink mean fewer people are able to access the wealth creation opportunities homeownership provides.
The affordable housing advocates who gathered at Prosperity Now’s 2017 I’M HOME Conference last month believe manufactured homes could be part of the affordable housing solution.
Manufactured homes and the people who live in them are often associated with negative perceptions perpetuated by stereotypes in popular culture. But since the enactment of the Federal Manufactured Housing and Construction Standards (also known as the HUD Code) in 1976, the prototypical low quality mobile homes with little insulation and an unstable foundations are no longer being constructed. The HUD Code established requirements for the design, performance, installation, and energy efficiency of manufactured homes, making today’s manufactured homes an attractive affordable housing option.
Manufactured housing is the largest unsubsidized housing stock in the United States. In 2015, about 18 million Americans lived in manufactured homes, and the manufactured housing industry is adding nearly 90,000 homes to that count annually. The factory setting construction process eliminates the risk of weather delays, reduces the incidence of unexpected cost increases associated with construction, requires less construction management, and allows for faster move-in. The average sale price of a new manufactured home is $68,000 compared to the average sale price of $360,000 for site built homes. When done right, manufactured housing can provide affordable housing opportunities to make homeownership and financial stability a reality for all families.
This year’s I’M HOME Conference focused on innovations in financing, preservation, and partnerships around affordable and manufactured housing through presentation of compelling data and powerful personal stories. Speakers included: Dr. Chris Herbert, Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University; Dr. Esther Sullivan, professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado-Denver; and Andrea Levere, President of Prosperity Now. Click here to read more about the I’M HOME Conference, and access presentations and materials distributed at the Conference here.
