Recap of a Recent Home Show
We were recently in attendance at home show in Augusta, Maine on February 3 – 5th, 2012. The home show had seven homes and five homes belonged to VBI group members. The homes that were at the show included three from Pine View Homes, two from Titan homes and one home from Commodore Homes.
Showcase Homes had a Champion Home from the Claysburg, PA facility and Fairlane Homes had a New Era modular, complete with attached garage!
Attendance was up 30% from 2011 which is quite exciting for our industry. The overall quality of potential customers was quite impressive as well.
Hooray for 2012!
Manufactured Housing Finance Relief Legislation Unveiled
This post is from an email via The Manufactured Home Industry. This email is so important that I decided to post it word-for-word because it is quite important to our industry and could have not said it better myself. *Note it is quite a lengthy post but important.
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(Arlington, VA – February 1, 2012) – “During a hearing of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity evaluating the effectiveness to which the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has implemented key provisions of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000, Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA) formally unveiled legislation (H.R. 3849) to reduce regulatory burdens impeding access to affordable manufactured housing financing”.
“In detailing challenges facing the manufactured housing industry, Congressman Miller cited a number of difficulties the industry has suffered over the past decade, including: a decline in new manufactured home construction of roughly 80 percent; the closure of more than 160 plants; and the loss of over 200,000 jobs. He specified that “Congress must address the problems with regulatory overreach that impedes the ability of consumers to obtain mortgage financing for manufactured homes.”
The bill (titled the Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act) was developed on a bipartisan basis by Reps. Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Stephen Fincher (R-TN) and Gary Miller, in consultation with the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI), to address two significant issues impacting the manufactured housing industry:
- Reducing the threshold by which small balance manufactured home personal property loans are considered High-Cost Mortgage Loans under provisions within the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (P.L. 111-203) and thereby subject to punitive and onerous liabilities.
- Clarifying that those selling manufactured homes—who are not fundamentally engaged in the business of mortgage origination —are not to be considered mortgage originators under the federal SAFE Act and thereby better able to provide adequate technical assistance to consumers throughout the manufactured home buying process—similar to the SAFE Act treatment of real estate brokers.
Upon introduction of the legislation, MHI Chairman and Cavco Industries Chairman and CEO Joe Stegmayer stated “we are truly grateful for the dedicated leadership and work of Representatives Joe Donnelly, Stephen Fincher and Gary Miller on this very important issue. Serving the financing needs of the manufactured housing market has always been a unique challenge. It has grown more challenging by the establishment of new federal guidelines that do not adequately account for the complexities and realities facing the industry and consumers alike. The legislation is an essential step in preserving the affordability advantage of manufactured housing and protecting the equity that 19 million existing manufactured home residents have built in their homes.”
During the hearing, several members of the subcommittee reaffirmed the important role manufactured housing plays as an affordable, high quality housing source and the need for improved access to financing, including Rep. Robert Hurt (R-VA) who stated that the manufactured housing industry has been “hindered by a lack of financing availability.” Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) highlighted the valuable role manufactured housing plays as an “important source of affordable housing” that is “threatened by a lack of financing options.”
In his testimony, Cavco Industries Director of Engineering Manuel Santana, P.E. – testifying on behalf of MHI – reinforced these points and stated that “the single most important issue impacting the manufactured housing market remains the availability of accessible and affordable financing for those seeking to purchase manufactured housing.” Mr. Santana added that “lack of a viable secondary market for manufactured home loans coupled with growing regulatory burdens threaten to further constrict the limited financing options that currently exist within the manufactured housing market.”
MHI will continue to work on a bipartisan basis to educate Members of Congress and develop solutions to the financing crisis within the manufactured housing market. For a copy of the legislation, click here. A description of the bill’s impact on SAFE Act and the Dodd-Frank Act is available here.
MHI is the preeminent national trade association for the manufactured and modular housing industries, representing all segments of the industry before Congress and the Federal government. From its Washington, D.C. area headquarters, MHI actively works to promote fair laws and regulation that will help provide quality, affordable housing for homebuyers. For more information on MHI, visit www.manufacturedhousing.org.
MHI November 2011 Report
We love good news around here! MHI’s report is now available for November 2011 and is full of great news. The new manufactured homes shipped in November 2011 was 5,301 which is up 53.1% from November of 2010.
Single sections accounted for a lot of this increase in November. Those shipments were up 114.6% from the previous November. FEMA did play a large roll in this increase as well because they purchased 1,735 homes in the last quarter of 2011.
The industry shipments YTD were 47,768 homes compared to last year’s shipments of 47,265 which is an overall net increase of 1.1%. ” The seasonally adjusted annual rate or *SAAR was 68, 389 for November which is up 18.9% from the rate of 57,523 in October 2011″ (MHI news, 2011). The total floors in November 2011 that were shipped were 7,485 which is up 35.7% from November of 2010.
To obtain the entire November 2011 report please click here.
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*SAAR corrects for normal seasonal variations in shipments and projects annual shipments based on the current monthly total.
2012 MHI Legislative Conference
There are many new legislators in Congress thanks to last year’s election. That is why we are asking you to share how important our industry is to “the health of the economy and housing Americans” in 2012. Everything that happens in D.C. can and most likely will shape our industry throughout 2012.
By attending MHI’s February 2012 Legislative Conference you presence and voice will be heard. This meeting will be critical in reaching out to the members of the 112th Congress on issues of that are of great importance to our industry which include the following:
- Dodd-Frank Financial Reform
- EISA Standards
- SAFE Act
- The future role of government’s support of affordable housing programs
- Vital industry tax credits
- Increased oversight of the federal manufactured housing program
Get your voice heard and make sure the correct people are listening to you about how important our industry is in this economy. Sponsorship opportunities are available here. Check out the following registration deadlines which expires on Jan. 26th, 2012:
- Discounted room rate @ Sheraton Crystal City Express (reserve it here)
- Early-bird registration fee (reserve it here)
Calling all Entries for MHI and NMHC Awards!
Calling all entries! Calling all entries! We are exited to announce that the National Industry Awards are looking for entries to award the following categories:
- Best manufactured home communities
- Best manufactured home retail sales center
- Best industry leaders
Please submit your entry form and associated fee by February 10th, 2012. Then submit your entry materials for judging by February 24th, 2012. There are additional explanations in the links below.
The Congress & Expo Conference will be handing out the awards on April 10-12, 2012 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Each winner will receive a trophy and wonderful recognition by the industry communications. The following information explains how to enter and gives you the entry forms:
NMHC’s Quarterly Modular Housing Report – 3rd Quarter of 2011
NMHC or the National Modular Housing Council’s 3rd quarter’s report is out everyone! 3,544 new modular homes were shipped in the third quarter of this year. Those results are down 2.0% from the same quarter of the preceding year (2010).
However, in comparison with quarter three in 2010 to quarter three 2011, state shipments show an increase in six different states. There were reductions in 18 states and five states that had no change in shipments.
If you would like to review the full report, please click here.
Why is the Manufactured Housing Industry Great?
I wanted to give you all a brief synopsis of a great piece that I recently read. The piece was written by Thayer Long who was the former President and CEO of the Manufactured Housing Institute.
One of my favorite statements he made was, “Since 1989, manufactured housing industry has accounted for 21% of all new homes sold. Citizens can realize the American Dream of owning their own home at an affordable price, without sacrificing quality or the level of amenities they desire” (Long, 2011). What a beautiful way to capture the manufactured housing industry in just two sentences.
Three more subsections of the piece really capture the focus of the industry as a whole. I chose the statements that best capture the sections. If you would to read the piece in its entirety click here.
1) We are thinking about the customer
“Customers are what make factories operate, they keep sales centers open, and communities occupied. We have done a good job in building homes and creating lifestyles and value to keep customers satisfied and coming back. Satisfied and happy customers are the best way to build a good “national” image” (Long, 2011).
2) We are learning from the past
“I believe the industry has done a very good job in advancing new methods and technologies to build our homes, and has been very disciplined in not returning to a system of lending that puts customers in difficult situations” (Long, 2011).
3) We are embracing change
“The industry has undergone rapid transformation in the past few years to rise to the challenges of a tougher economy, and industry members are always changing how they do business to increase their value proposition. The partnerships that are being forged by different business units in these difficult times are a testament to the resolve members have to
survive” (Long, 2011).
Overall, this is a great article that captures the present look and feel to the manufactured housing industry.
It’s time to Save-The-Date!
Even though April 2012 does sound very far away, it will be here before you know it, so save-the-date now April 10th – 12th, 2012! Join everyone at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to gain the knowledge and resources to shine in today’s housing market. This national show will consider the following topics and more:
- What will the next decade bring for housing in America?
- How will the U.S. housing marketing be affected by demographic trends?
- Where will the Millennials call home?
- What housing choices will seniors make going forward?
- How can factory built housing gain market share?
Please feel free to visit Congress & Expo website for more information and here is the schedule.
Reauthorization of Preferential Tax Treament of Imported Lumber
Guess what? Good news is on the forefront. “After months of delay, manufactured home builders will now be able to purchase imported lumber duty free!” President Obama signed legislation to reauthorize the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (*GSP). The program will be upheld from October 21, 2011 through July 31st, 2013.
The expiration date of the program was December 31, 2010. The delay in reauthorizing the program was upheld by a controversy created by the impact on one U.S. producer of one product imported from one GSP beneficiary. The lapse in the program also concluded in substantial increases in the cost of plywood and other lumber materials.
Sherry Norris – Executive Director of the Alabama Manufactured Housing Association – initiated a grassroots lobbying effort to reauthorize the GSP.
*The GSP is a program that provides preferential duty-free entry for up to 4,800 products including lumber, from 129 designated beneficiary countries and territories.
MHI’s Economic Report August 2011
Good news is in the air, the Manufactured Housing Institute’s monthly economic report is out for August 2011. The manufactured home shipments for August 2011 were up 6.3% from August 2010. The shipments for August totaled at 5,166 new homes. Shipments of the single section homes showed a 21.7% increase from last year in August.
In comparison to 2010 for the month of August the number of homes sold year-to-date is down by 9.9%. Currently, the YTD is 31, 994 for 2011. In 2010 the YTD for August the number of homes sold was 35,521.
The total floors shipped in August was up 1.8% from the same month in 2010. The current YTD totals are 7,913 for total floors shipped.
