News Reports: Housing news updates and reports for Manufactured Home and Modular Housing Industry professionals and investors. Business – daily fact checks, market reports, and analysis.
Canada’s Journal of Commerce says that modular housing can qualify for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification just as much as stick-built construction. Tom Hardiman, executive director of the Modular Building Institute (MBI), says, “Any project that can be site built can be more efficiently built off site.” …
Canadian Builders Tout Modular Building Equal to Conventional Read More
The Winter Meeting and Legislative Congress of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) will be held at the Capitol Hilton Sunday, March 13, through Tuesday, March 15. Estimates on attendance reported to MHMSM.com range from 60-85 industry members. The agenda includes members of Congress and HUD who deal with manufactured housing, …
11 update says manufactured home production was down 12.89 percent over January of last year. The report says HUD is directly responsible for the precipitous drop of HUD Code manufactured houses from 374,000 in 1998 to under 50,000 last year. It says the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Title 1 program …
The Dow lost one half a percentage point to end the week at 12044.40. Housing stocks closed mostly up, with Deer Valley soaring to 285.19 percent up, after losing 74.04 percent Thursday. Skyline Corp. gained .95 percent, Cavco was up .24 percent, and Nobility Homes lost .62 percent. The Manufactured …
Dow Closes Down Slightly Amid Oil and Earthquake Concerns Read More
As reported in Azle News Online, Retired Major General Leroy Sisco is president of the non-profit Military Warriors Support Foundation, an organization that helps disabled veterans receive job counseling, scholarships, and other supportive services. He and Jim Thomason of the Fort Worth Air Power Council, another organization dedicated to helping …
HousingWire.com reports the House of Representatives voted to end the Emergency Homeowner Loan Program (EHLP) that was set to take applications beginning in the spring. EHLP, created under the Dodd-Frank Act, would provide up to $50,000 in interest-free loans for mortgage payments to unemployed homeowners for up to 24 months. …
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) says there is pent-up demand for apartment rental units. Although there is new construction, the ongoing credit crunch is making it difficult for developers to meet the demand, which could lead to higher rents. The report cites the Multifamily Vacancy Index (MVI), which …
The Lewiston Sun Journal of Maine reports the Maine Modular Housing Show will be held in Oxford Hills April 15-17. Scott Stone of Schiavi Homes in Oxford says he’s having a pretty good winter despite the downturn in the overall housing market. Last year he says he saw a lot …
Islandpacket.com says the small town of Bluffton, South Carolina, just west of Hilton Head, is moving forward with plans to build six modular homes to respond to the area’s affordable housing needs. The town has a $727,000 federal Neighborhood Stabilization Grant plus $150,000 from the Lowcountry Council of Governments. Habitat …
The Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) reports that after leading efforts to put the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) back on more stable footing, as well as overseeing and managing the Office of Manufactured Housing, FHA Commissioner Dave Stevens will be leaving his position at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban …
The Dow dropped 228.41 points to close below the 12 thousand mark at 11,984.68. Housing stocks also fell. Deer Valley lost 33.65 percent, Skyline lost 4.58 percent and Cavco fell 1.40 percent. Nobility Homes was unchanged. The Manufactured Housing Composite lost 5.04 percent to close at 1087.20.
CNNMoney reports that the largest drop in year-to-year foreclosures ever saw the rate fall 27 percent from last year, and 14 percent from a month earlier. RealtyTrac says, however, it may be a false positive in that the harsh winter may have prevented filings from being issued and notices going …
HousingWire.com reports that according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average 30-year fixed-mortgage rate (FMR) was up just one basis point to 4.88 percent for the week ending March 10. Rates broke five percent for the first time this year one month ago. Fifteen year FRMs remained at …
In a follow-up conversation with MHMSM.com, Wisconsin Housing Alliance (WHA) Executive Director Ross Kinzler responded to The Wausau Daily Herald report on the manufactured housing tax break, noting a definite example of double taxation. “The provision in the state budget to exempt manufactured homes shipped out of state has nothing …
Response to Charges of Political Favoritism in Wisconsin Read More
The Wausau Daily Herald reports Wisconsin’s Democratic Party has leveled charges at Gov. Scott Walker that his eliminating sales and other taxes on manufactured housing built in the state but sold beyond the border is politically motivated. Wausau Homes’ owners donated a total of $25,000 to Walker’s campaign over a …
Did Wausau Homes’ Support of Gov. Walker Elicit Tax Break? Read More
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has scheduled a media teleconference March 16 concerning technical guidance in dealing with possible problems from new Chinese drywall. The event will be hosted by Barry Rutenberg, First Chairman, NAHB, Katherine Cahill, Global Product Risk Practice Leader, with Marsh Risk Consulting, and Dr. …
The Dow lost .01 percent to end the day at 12,213.09. Housing stocks reflected the same trend. Skyline Corporation was down .89 percent, and Cavco dropped .61 percent. Nobility Homes and Deer Valley did not change. The Manufactured Housing Composite lost two-thirds of a point to close at 1144.80.
HousingWire.com notes that on the heels of a bill passed by the House Financial Services Committee to end two programs aimed at foreclosure prevention, President Obama said he would veto both measures. As reported here last week, the Republican-dominated Congress wants to end the Short Refi program, which assists underwater …
President Obama Threatens to Veto Bills to Kill Foreclosure Programs Read More
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) told the Senate Banking Committee that Congress needs to take action to restore the availability of credit to home buyers and builders. NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe said, “Without access to credit, the residential construction industry will lose more small businesses and experience …
According to HousingWire.com, a new study by researchers at the Federal Bank of Cleveland says speculators who buy distressed housing in blighted urban centers may be doing more harm than good. Thomas Fitzpatrick and O. Emre Ergungor report if buyers do not buy through the banking system, liens, back taxes …
