From Maryland comes a story from Southern Maryland Newspapers Online about plans to increase density in a manufactured home community there. According to a recent report from the county’s Department of Planning and Growth Management, Charles County needs to make more homes available for residents who earn between $30,000 and …
Manufactured Homes Could Help Boost Affordable Housing in Maryland Read More
From Alaska, The Peninsula Clarion reports that a factory-built home community in Kenai could be reincarnated as a low-income, modular housing subdivision with its currently pending sale to an Alaska Native corporation. Plans are to install modular housing units, like those used in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Officials told …
From Arizona, the Casa Grande Dispatch ran a story Tuesday recalling the history of Palm Harbor Homes in the community. The company had both a production plant and retail sales office in Casa Grande until the plant closed in early 2009. The sales office closed early this year. The newspaper …
Arizona Community Recalls History of Palm Harbor Homes There Read More
Businessweek reports that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. plans to sell $500 million of notes to repay debt used by its Clayton Homes manufactured housing unit. The magazine reported on its website that five-year senior notes may be issued through Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corp. and may pay about 87.5 basis …
Berkshire to Sell $500 Million in Notes to Repay Clayton Debt Read More
Remember the photo of the farm animals that would be allowed under proposed zoning in Rankin County, Mississippi while manufactured homes would be permitted only with a variance? (http://www.mhmsm.com/blogs/daily-business-news/mississippi-association-goes-to-bat-over-zoning-changes.php) The manufactured housing industry has prevailed, and that will not be the case. As reported by the Rankin Ledger, county supervisors …
Manufactured Homes Triumph in Mississippi Zoning Issue Read More
In yesterday’s News at Noon, Michigan Retailer Jim Dietrich commented that we may be moving into simpler times. ( http://www.mhmsm.com/blogs/daily-business-news/a-housing-market-report-from-michigan.php A recent Associated Press story in the New York Times provides what may be additional evidence. According to the article, luxury home builder Toll Brothers report its new home contracts …
Construtech ran an article about smart appliances coming to the construction industry from General Electric. GE Appliances & Lighting plans to launch a portfolio of products that provide insight into energy usage across the home. The article says through a series of products that leverage connected technologies, such as smart …
UPI.com reports that there may be a large shadow inventory of foreclosed homes in the American Heartland. The reason: no data is collected from small lenders or lenders that operate exclusively in rural areas. Homeowners in the heartland struggle with many of the same factors that plague urban and suburban …
Rural Foreclosures: The Hidden Heartland Inventory Read More
A U.S. mortgage sub-sector historically known for its problematic performance has emerged as one of its more stable performers, according to Fitch Ratings in a new report. The manufactured housing sector has experienced very slight increases in loss severities, net loss rates and 60-day delinquencies over the last year. This …
Fitch: U.S. Manufactured Housing Remains Stable Amid Market Turmoil Read More
A call to Jim Dietrich, vice president of sales at Roy’s Home Center in Gobles, Michigan on another matter allowed us some insight into the market there. Somewhat expected, Dietrich reported sales of manufactured homes to be slow, similar to the over-all housing market. “We’re having a hard time getting …
McMansions are rapidly becoming the housing equivalent of harvest gold appliances as more Americans are opting for smaller residential footprints, according to a new Relocation.com consumer lifestyle survey. Small homes in the suburbs? Sound like a market the manufactured home industry could tap into! In the survey, homeowners and buyers …
Oregonlive.com reports that more than 200 workers will likely lose their jobs under layoffs announced Thursday by three unrelated western Oregon companies. The job losses come in the manufactured home, real estate and bio tech industries. According to the report, Liberty Homes Inc. filed plans with the state to permanently …
From Arizona, the Yuma Sun reports that The Yuma Jaycees are getting ready to kick off their 64th annual celebration of the Christmas Lighting Contest and are looking for eager contestants in manufactured homes, site-built homes and commercial buildings. The only qualification for eligibility is being in Yuma, which raises the …
Holiday Lights on Manufactured Homes in Arizona Contest Read More
From Alabama, The Daily Home brings us news that the Talladega City Council voted unanimously Thursday evening to pass a six-month moratorium on placing mobile or manufactured homes in designated Manufactured Home Areas in the city. According to the report, approval of the moratorium will also be based on a …
From Tennessee, Blount Today reports that Clayton Homes sponsored a recent fundraiser for the Blount County Education Foundation, raising $31,000. The second annual Clayton Homes Turkey Trot Run for Education was held on Sunday, Nov. 21. Runners, walkers, cheerleaders and “gobblers” in the form of trophies filled the campus of …
From Martinsville, Virginia, the Martinsville Bulletin reported on the planned asset purchase of Palm Harbor Homes by Cavco-owned Fleetwood Homes. Martinsville is home to a plant operated by Palm Harbor subsidiary Nationwide. A Palm Harbor company spokesperson told the reporter it’s too early to determine how the Chapter 11 reorganization …
Report Indicates Fate of Manufacturing Plants from Potential Merger Unknown Read More
From Oregon, the Gazette Times ran a story indicating struggling Palm Harbor Homes won’t close despite bankruptcy filing. The report indicated a 120-employee plant in Millersburg, Oregon will continue operations as usual. It is one of five Palm Harbor facilities in Oregon. Officials said the filing comes after four years …
From California, the San Jose Mercury News ran a story on the tiny house movement thriving despite a general downturn in real estate. The report says a small, but growing number of Americans are buying or building homes that could fit inside many people’s living rooms. Not everyone lives in …
A November 16 article in the Virginian-Pilot carried the headline Fast-moving fires pose special risk in mobile homes. At first sight, this headline would seem another instance where the media unfairly implies negative judgment on the quality and safety of factory-built housing. But the article then quotes fire officials who …
Experts Say Manufactured Homes Not More Prone to Fire Read More
The Indiana Department of Financial Institutions has been performing outreach to manufactured housing retailers and communities in order to insure compliance with the SAFE Act. Mark Bowersox, executive director of the Indiana Manufactured Housing Association (IMHA) told MHMSM.com his organization was previously told by the state that enforcement would be complaint-driven, …
Indiana Department Investigating for SAFE Act Compliance Read More
