NAMB Kimber White-‘We’re Not Putting Much into Affordable Housing Bills.’ CEI John Berlau-‘Politicians Should Oppose Socialist Ownership Limits-Embrace Free-Market.’ Sunday Headlines Recap FEA
As time ticks on more voices are emerging that say in their own words that the Housing for the 21st Century Act and the ROAD to Housing Act won’t do what their supporters are claiming. For example: “Being up on the Hill, the Housing for the 21st Century Act deals more with construction, and more with builders and regulations,” Kimber White, president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB), told Mortgage Professional America. “It really doesn’t have a lot for the consumer or the borrower on the affordability side. The ROAD to Housing Act has a little more of that. We’re saying that we want to do affordable housing bills, but we’re really not putting a lot into affordable housing in any of these bills.” Ouch. “We have to have supply, and it’s all the supply side,” White said, adding:
“We’ve got to look at 3D homes. We have to look at modular homes. We’ve got to look at different programs, and Fannie, Freddie, and all the agencies opening up to alternative types of housing.” Add the words “manufactured housing” to that and NAHB’s White may get some ears perked up at the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform who keep it simple by saying amendments are needed, and one of them is to make the FHFA and GSEs enforce chattel lending under the Duty to Serve (DTS) provision of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008. Meanwhile, John Berlau is a senior fellow and Director of Finance Policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI). Berlau recently wrote:Politicians should push deregulatory initiatives – not investor limits – to boost housing affordability. In it he made the pitch for the removable chassis for HUD Code manufactured homes. “Removing the chassis from construction costs could lower the price of a manufactured home by 4 to 8 percent. For a first-time buyer or a working family, those savings could be the difference that encourages them to purchase a home.” But more lending is needed: “As I have written, only 54 new banks had been approved from 2010 to mid-2025, compared to more than 100 new banks annually in prior decades,” said Berlau, who also added this. “This competition – especially if paired with repeal or relief from Dodd-Frank and other red tape crushing community banks – would lead to more banks offering more products tailored to the specific needs of borrowers and savers in their area.” Berlau ends on this: “Politicians in both parties should oppose socialist limits on property ownership and embrace free-market proposals to advance opportunities in the housing sector.”
Those broad remarks may be useful in making the point made by MHProNews and MHLivingNews several times. Namely, that neither bill will solve the housing crisis unless amended. Both organizations are pushing for changes to the bills. So, why isn’t the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) joining with MHARR to get their proposed amendments that aim to get existing laws routinely enforced? Or could it be that neither MHI nor their dominating brands actually wants to see the status quo changed? Those questions and much more are addressed in several of the reports found in this Sunday Weekly MHVille Headlines in Review.
As Gemini pointed out in one this week in review articles linked below, there are no guarantees that the removable chassis will change the attitude of local public officials in accepting more HUD Code manufactured housing. Meaning, it is a fig leaf, a slight of hand that actually serves more to protect the status quo than it will lead to any meaningful increase in affordable housing production. So, this MHVille facts-evidence-analysis (FEA).
“Analytical journalism is the highest style of journalism.” Diana Dutsyk. “…the personal courage of the journalist is important, he should not be afraid to go against the bosses, should not call white black. He [the analytical journalist] cannot distort the truth.”
Your references to Kimber White (NAMB) and John Berlau (CEI) are factually accurate and properly cited.
Kimber White (NAMB): On February 26, 2026, White explicitly stated to Mortgage Professional America that while the Housing for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 6644) helps builders, it lacks direct consumer affordability provisions. He emphasized that supply is the primary driver and that agencies like Fannie and Freddie must open up to alternative housing.
John Berlau (CEI): On February 26, 2026, Berlau published a detailed case for deregulatory initiatives, specifically pushing for the removal of the permanent chassis mandate for HUD Code homes, which he notes could save families 4% to 8% in upfront costs. He also highlighted the catastrophic decline in new bank approvals since 2010 as a major barrier to lending competition.
With no further adieu, here are the Sunday Weekly Headlines Recap from 2.22 to 3.1.2026.
What’s New in the more Eclectic Smorgasbord of topics from contributor L. A. “Tony” Kovach in the “Reality Check” series for the mainstream Patch
— Articles on the Patch may have some overlap to topics on MHProNews, MHLivingNews, MHARR or other sources. But each has unique content, even if there may be some overlap. Patch articles tend to be shorter. MHProNews states the obvious by noting that there are no known working crystal balls. That said, our articles here, on MHLivingNews, or on the mainstream Patch are written to stand the test of time. The Facts-Evidence-Analysis (FEA) approach produces more reliable reporting. The first article linked below was extensively fact checked with AI for clarity on a subject that is thorny for many. ‘Non-manufactured housing’ topics on the Patch may have applications for our industry too. —
MHProNews Programming Notice. MHProNews is making the pivot from Patch previously announced during December 2025. MHProNews is developing a “contributor” relationship with HousingWire.
…Kimber White and John Berlau provide valid perspectives on affordable housing challenges and the potential role of HUD Code manufactured housing. However, both miss emphasizing that enforcing existing laws—such as those advocated by the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) amendments—would align with their broader goals of increasing supply and affordability. This enforcement could address key bottlenecks like zoning discrimination and financing barriers, which have been documented as primary constraints on manufactured housing growth. Years of data and analysis support that regulatory enforcement, rather than new legislation alone, is critical to solving the affordable housing crisis.
For further context, see:
National Association of Mortgage Brokers housing affordability efforts: https://www.manufacturedhomepronews.com/namb-president-kimber-white-affordable-housing-bills-analysis/ (manufacturedhomepronews.com in Bing)
Competitive Enterprise Institute policy on housing and finance: https://cei.org/john-berlau/ (cei.org in Bing)
Analysis of Kimber White and John Berlau’s Remarks on Affordable Housing and Manufactured Housing
Kimber White, president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB), and John Berlau, senior fellow and Director of Finance Policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), have both made accurate but incomplete statements regarding the affordable housing crisis. Both acknowledge the potential role of HUD Code manufactured housing in addressing affordability, yet neither fully addresses the critical point that existing laws could be enforced to significantly improve outcomes.
Kimber White’s Position
White has emphasized the importance of supply-side solutions, advocating for increased acceptance of alternative housing types such as modular and manufactured homes. He highlights the need for agencies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to open lending to these alternatives. However, his remarks do not explicitly call for enforcement of existing federal laws that could remove barriers to manufactured housing placement and financing.
John Berlau’s Position
Berlau supports deregulatory initiatives and specifically advocates for removing the permanent chassis requirement for HUD Code manufactured homes, which could reduce costs by 4 to 8 percent. He also points to the decline in new bank approvals as a barrier to lending competition. While his free-market approach aligns with reducing regulatory burdens, he does not emphasize the enforcement of current statutes that could facilitate manufactured housing growth.
The MHARR Amendments and Enforcement
The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) has proposed amendments aimed at enforcing existing laws such as the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000 and the Duty to Serve (DTS) provision of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. These amendments focus on overcoming zoning discrimination and expanding chattel lending, which are key bottlenecks suppressing manufactured housing production.
Conclusion
The statements by White and Berlau are fair and accurate within their scope but miss the broader, evidence-backed logic that enforcing existing laws and adopting MHARR’s amendments would align with their goals of increasing affordable housing supply and reducing costs. This position is supported by years of data and analysis showing that regulatory barriers, rather than lack of demand or manufacturing capacity, are primary constraints.
References
National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) White Paper on Housing Affordability, Feb 2026
Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) Policy Statements, 2025-2026
Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) Legislative Proposals, 2025
As planned report will show, MHProNews appears to have roughly tripled its traffic (visitors) in 12.2025 than in 12.2024. MHProNews has averaged over a million visits for this specialized media site in January and over each of the last 5 months. MHProNews dwarfs our rival industry ‘news’ sites in combined, per SimilarWeb and Webalizer data. Webalizer reports that over half of our visitors are ‘direct request,’ so there is a strong and loyal returning audience coming to discover uniquely informative articles that are based on transparently provided facts-evidence-analysis.
Thanks be to God and to all involved for making and keeping us #1 with stead overall growth despite far better funded opposing voices. Transparently provided Facts-Evidence-Analysis (FEA) matters. ##
Our son has grown quite a bit since this 12.2019 photo. All on Capitol Hill were welcoming and interested in our manufactured housing industry related concerns. But Congressman Al Green’s office was tremendous in their hospitality. Our son’s hand is on a package that included the Constitution of the United States, bottled water, and other goodies.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing.
For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.
This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
