Executive Housing at Affordable Prices
Fox News reported Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White announced Wednesday his first executive decision as governor would be to trade his $2.1 million mansion for a manufactured home. “It will start when I move, on the first day that I’m sworn into office, out of that fancy rental mansion into a double-wide trailer,” White says. “Where I come from, fiscal conservatism means you don’t waste money on yourself.” The former Houston mayor made the comments during a campaign stop in Tyler, Texas. Current Governor Rick Perry has been criticized for his Austin rental that’s costing taxpayers $10,000 a month while the governor’s mansion undergoes renovations. White’s intentions are excellent even if his terminology is outdated. Whether he’s elected or not, it would help to be more informed about the correct product name as well as its benefits. For more information, see the Manufactured Home Fact Sheet at MHMSM.com. And no one needs to wait to be elected to find you don’t have to spend a lot of money to feel you’re in an executive-worthy home.
Home Built in a Day Surprises Neighbors
From Texas, The Austin American Statesman reports that a modular home built there in a day got some amazed stares from neighbors in an upscale neighborhood. The home arrived in two sections and was designed by MA Modular of Austin. The manufacturer was Palm Harbor Homes, and Affordable Portable Structures placed the home on its foundation. The owners told the reporter the lot cost $235,000 and about $237,000 for the 1,500-square-foot house, including the cost of some upgrades such as Brazilian redwood siding.
Armstrong Sings Benefits of Cabinets Hanging in Modular 2010 House of the Year
Armstrong Cabinets announced recently their products are featured in Country Living’s 2010 House of the Year building project, “Home Green Home.” The house, developed by New World Home and designed by Country Living editors, is part of the historically-inspired Country Living Collection of modular homes, which offer attainable green living coupled with classic country style. The house is a 1,600-square-foot ‘Hudson’ cottage, part of New World Home’s Country Living Collection, a portfolio of five individual home designs that range from 1,100 to 2,300 square feet with an average price of $175-$225 per square foot. Steve Nash, vice president of Sales, Marketing & Service for Armstrong Cabinets says the Home Green Home project was not only fun, it introduced thousands of prospective home buyers to the ultimate in environmentally responsible construction.
Log Cabin Homes to be Branded Cabela’s
Cabela’s announced Thursday the launch of a branded line of log homes and cabin kits to be manufactured by its corporate partner The Original Log Cabin Homes of Rocky Mount, North Carolina. The company says the Cabela’s log homes and cabin kits, available in January 2011, will feature unique details in addition to the high-quality construction and exceptional value outdoor enthusiasts expect from the World’s Foremost Outfitter. Made of either cedar, cypress or pine, with log diameters from 4 to 12 inches, the log homes and cabin kits will be available in standard models or custom designs for shipment throughout North America and other destinations around the world.
Planning Commission Replaces Manufactured and Modular Home Project
From California the Santa Maria Times reports that the details of a plan to build 296 single-family homes in southwest Santa Maria have been unanimously approved. Earlier this week the city Planning Commission gave the go-ahead for a project called Heritage at Westgate Ranch. The 2.3-acre community is planned on 52.6 acres of vacant land. The previously planned, more extensive, Mattei’s Landing project of 375 modular and manufactured homes was dropped because of the moribund economy and a dramatic residential market collapse.
Manufactured Homes Trending on Google
If you’ve ever checked out Google Trends, you may notice that search volume for “manufactured housing” has been on a decline since around 2005, but news volume has shown a few spikes in recent years. You may also note the remarkable results from MHMSM.com in 2010. The most searches for “manufactured housing” are coming from these ten cities: Reno, Nevada; Jackson, Mississippi; Las Vegas, Nevada; Indianapolis, Indiana; Austin, Texas; Dallas, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona; Houston, Texas and Washington, DC. There’s some overlap with the top cities for “modular housing” searches, with the additions of New Orleans, Louisiana; Albany, New York; Charlotte, North Carolina; Denver, Colorado; Calgary, Canada plus Boston, Philadelphia and Atlanta.
FHFA Says Total Fannie and Freddie Draw Could Reach $363 Billion
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released projections of the financial performance of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Thursday including potential draws under the Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements (PSPAs) with the U.S. Department of the Treasury. To date, the Enterprises have drawn $148 billion from the Treasury Department under the terms of the PSPAs. Under the three scenarios used in the projections, cumulative Enterprise draws range from $221 billion to $363 billion through 2013. “These projections are intended to give policymakers and the public useful snapshots of potential outcomes for the taxpayer support of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” says FHFA Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco. “These are not predictions; the results reflect the potential effects of a limited set of hypothetical changes in house prices, a key variable driving credit losses for the Enterprises.”
Fitch Says MH Residential Mortgage Securities Stable
U.S. manufactured housing residential mortgage-backed securities rated by Fitch Ratings continue to maintain stable performance despite continued negative pressure on the housing market, the company says. Fitch says the company has taken various rating actions on all 147 of its rated MH RMBS transactions. Notable takeaways from Fitch’s most recent analysis include average expected pool loss as a percent of original balance changed little from 22.52 percent in 2009 to 22.54 percent. Fitch says the average updated expected collateral loss for the MH transactions is approximately 23.09 percent of the remaining pool balance. The expected collateral losses have changed little from the last review in 2009.
Dow Up, MH Stocks Decline
The manufactured housing composite value was off nearly two percentage points Friday while the Dow fluctuated between gains and losses throughout the day. The Dow ended up nearly 40 points, but most manufactured housing and related stocks ended lower. All American Group, Palm Harbor Homes and Skyline Corp were some of the day’s biggest decliners. Universal Forest Products, the Barnes Group and UMH Properties racked up modest gains.