The prestigious Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) acknowledges the gravity of the growing U.S. housing crisis. Their full 2021 report on the State of the Nation’s Housing as well as their media kits that are based upon their annual snapshot repeatedly point to the need for more affordable housing. Nevertheless, manufactured homes and manufactured housing received only two brief mentions in the body of their forty-page report. Their research did not mention manufactured housing at all in the context of the need for more affordable homes. JCHS and their fellows have in previous years often made significant statements about the value and need for manufactured homes, as the periodically referenced statement by Eric Belsky exemplifies. So, what happened in 2021?

First, the two paragraphs that follow contain the only mentions of the term “manufactured home” or “manufactured housing,” with those terms highlighted below by MHProNews. The wording of the paragraphs by JCHS are as in the original State of the Nation’s Housing 2021, with page where the quote is found is cited after each quoted passage.

• “Among the homes most in need of repair are manufactured housing units, units occupied by renters, and those occupied by Black, Hispanic, and Native American/Alaskan Native households, as well as by people with disabilities. Public housing is an important case in point. National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials estimated that the backlog of capital funding needed to address deficiencies in the stock of roughly one million units was $70 billion in 2019 and accruing at $3.4 billion per year.” (Page 6).
• “The American Rescue Plan Act passed in March 2021 includes $10 billion to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure or forced sales by making up for a broad range of missed mortgage payments and even reducing outstanding principal. This funding could provide a critical lifeline not only for owners facing the loss of their homes, but also for the other 30 percent of mortgage borrowers and  manufactured home owners that were ineligible for forbearance programs.” (Page 21).

MHProNews reached out earlier this week to their designated media relations contact, Kerry Donahue, Associate Director of Communications, Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS). After about two hours, there was no reply.  Because vacations or other factors may cause a no or delayed response, MHProNews directly contacted JCHS Managing Director Chris Herbert. The inquiry included mention of the two paragraphs above paired with the following observations. Herbert’s reply followed.

From MHProNews to JCHS was the following via email:

“…In prior years, manufactured housing has typically received more attention from the JCHS, and often more favorable mentions. Both of the references in the 2021 report are essentially negative.

Additionally, unless I’ve missed something, it seems there are no other mentions of manufactured homes, nor of other types of factory-built housing, in your annual report. Meanwhile conventional housing, multifamily, and rental housing, etc. gets the attention.

Can you explain this? Or have I missed something? Please email your response for our mutual accuracy in handling.

Thank you.

Tony

…”…followed by full time and title for MHProNews… etc.

##

JCHS Managing Director Herbert promptly responded as follows.

Tony,

Thanks for sharing this input.  We certainly appreciate the importance of manufactured housing in supplying affordable housing options.  The report covers a lot of ground each year so it’s not always possible to cover every aspect of the housing sector to the degree we’d like.  HAC has been an important partner as a sponsor organization for many years and they certainly share your concerns about the importance of this form of housing.  We will keep your feedback in mind next year as we prepare the 2022 report.

Best regards,

Chris

Chris Herbert
Managing Director, Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies…

…##

Counting the front and back ‘cover’ and credits, the roughly 40 page document mentioned the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) as a co-sponsor for their research on the table of contents page. But to be absolutely clear on the meaning of HAC in that email, MHProNews asked Herbert to clarify, which he confirmed that HAC was the Housing Assistance Council.

From one of the JCHS media fact sheets provided to MHProNews, are the following ‘key facts’ or findings from their report.

 

KEY FACTS   

Strong Demand and Tight Supply Lift Home Prices by Double Digits

• The supply of existing homes for sale has never been tighter. There were 1.03 million existing homes on the market in February 2021, down from an already low 1.46 million a year earlier. This amounts to a 29 percent decline in just one year and a 37 percent drop in two years. Single-family homes accounted for only 870,000 of the existing units available—the lowest level in records dating back to 1982.
• The combination of robust demand and limited supply lifted home prices to their fastest pace in over a decade. Home prices rose 13.2 percent nationally in March 2021 and by at least 10 percent in 85 of 100 large metro areas and divisions in the first quarter of 2021, up from just 5 markets the year prior.
• Following low levels of homebuilding since the mid-2000s, housing construction has finally approached levels consistent with projected demand. From June 2020 through March 2021, total starts averaged just over 1.5 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, in line with our housing demand projections calling for production of 1.5 million units annually in 2018–2028.
• The top concerns among homebuilders in 2020 were the scarcity and cost of building materials. The price of inputs to new residential construction overall rose by a substantial 14 percent year over year in March 2021. The surge in softwood lumber prices is particularly alarming, up some 83 percent over the same period. The jump in lumber costs added about $36,000 to the average price of a new single-family home.

##

The image above is linked from the bullets above.

Not from their JCHS media kit, but rather from the body of their report, is this statement on page 35: “Policymakers can address some of these barriers, such as the spiraling costs of materials and the shrinking supply of construction labor, with measures aimed at removing supply chain frictions and supporting workforce development, including immigration reform. “

An example of one of numerous mentions of the term ‘affordable’ housing, is this next passage found on page 33. Note that the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) is one of the 2021 annual report’s sponsors.

“According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual gap report, there were only 37 affordable and available homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households nationwide in 2019. Supplies of affordable and available homes were tightest in several Western states, including Nevada (20 for every 100 extremely low-income renters), California (24), and Oregon (25). The metro areas with the most acute shortages were Las Vegas (16 per 100 extremely low-income renters), Houston (19), and Los Angeles (20). It is no coincidence that these states and metro areas have especially high cost-burden rates.”

The items above merit some recap and unpacking from a manufactured housing perspective.  In no particular order of importance:

1. JCHS apparently grasps the fact that more new construction is necessary.
2. They also appear to recognize that ‘site builders’ are constrained in part by a lack of so-called qualified labor.
3. One of several of their statements appears to be contradicted by other sources. For instance, “Although part of the answer to the nation’s housing shortage, new construction can only do so much to ease short-term supply constraints. To meet today’s strong demand, more existing single-family homes must come on the market.”

As an example of (C) above, is this: “Inventory [of homes for sale] declines are sizable, record-low inventories,” National Association of Realtors (NAR) Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, Ph.D. said. “But if we look across price categories, it’s even more striking. It’s essentially the starter home where we don’t have inventory.” Per the Standard Examiner, Yun added: “The cumulative effect of 14 years of underproduction [of new housing construction] is we simply don’t have enough homes for sale.”  Yun has noted previously that only new construction will solve the upward pressure on housing, because someone listing and selling a home is typically followed by that same person/household buying another one.

• 4. It should be noted that JCHS’ 2021 annual report raised the specter of a housing bubble, but also tamped down those concerns as follows, from page 2.

“These outsized increases have raised concerns that a home price bubble is emerging. However, conditions today are quite different than in the early 2000s, particularly in terms of credit availability. The current climb in house prices instead reflects strong demand amid tight supply, helped along by record-low interest rates.” If that projection/analysis holds up, time will tell. When, some are paying significant sums over asking prices, at a minimum, it may presage a downward price correction on such units that were ‘overpaid’ if and when more supply comes online.

Restated, much of what the above (1, 2, 3, etc.) point to a need for lower priced homes which manufactured homes are uniquely able to supply.

Additionally, while all builders face labor challenges, some of those – per manufactured home builders to MHProNews – are being caused by overly generous unemployment pay during the COVID19 outbreak. Once that unemployment overpayment is corrected, as several so-called “red state” or Republican governors are already doing, more labor will become available. It then becomes a case of training that labor. Again, factory-builders have told MHProNews that they are better positioned to train workers than site builders.

While some are pushing for the conversion of hotels, motels, and other space into housing units, which JCHS mentions, such unit updates and conversions will have obvious limits.

The thrust of the above reveals this. The obvious solution to much of the affordable housing shortage is the need for potentially millions of manufactured homes.

Thus, the oddity that JCHS failed to mention manufactured homes in that context.

With that background, a look at Housing Assistance Council or HAC follows.  HAC is listed in their 2021 annual report as a sponsor for their research, and Herbert himself elevated them in his reply with respect to manufactured housing, both of which are good reasons to spend a few moments looking at that nonprofit and manufactured housing.

 

 

Housing Assistance Council (HAC) and Manufactured Homes

Using the HAC “ruralhome.org” website search tool, on 6.22.2021, there are 111 results shown for the search term “manufactured home.” Here is what the first page of headlines are on 6.22.2021. The report was published on June 16, 2021. Once more, HAC is a report sponsor, as is the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), several apartment and other real estate housing groups. Among those JCHS report sponsors is the National Housing Conference (NHC), which the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) claims as on of its housing “coalition partners.”

 

 

Additional Information, MHProNews Analysis and Commentary in Brief 

It should be noted that Herbert, copying their media relations person, told MHProNews on 6.22.2021 that “No, we have not received any other comments related to manufactured housing.”

 

 

That means that neither MHI, nor their dominating brands, nor their state affiliates have raised any concerns. Only MHProNews, which copied the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) in our messages, raised the issue.

Which begs the question. Whose side is MHI on? Why haven’t they, or their dominating brands, or affiliates, responded to the JCHS research and its lack of interest in manufactured homes as a key part of the solution to the growing affordable housing crisis? After all, some of the observations and recommendations in the JCHS report arguably mitigate against the interests of manufactured housing. Isn’t that reason enough for MHI to speak up?

 

No less important, the proposed ‘solutions’ offered by Harvard’s annual housing report are not solutions at all. Repeating the same tread worn policies that has caused the current shortage of housing. To double down on the principles that led to the status quo is obviously no logical way to fix the housing crisis.

Only the correct changes in housing policies can accomplish that. Since JCHS, NAR, and others have said there is a need for more affordable or entry level homes, the logical solution is manufactured homes.

The State of the Nation’s Housing 2021 once more reveals MHI and its corporate masters as posturing support for the industry’s growth, while they are instead working for the industry’s consolidation. The reports that are linked below document those concerns. Those linked reports will be followed by our broader market and manufactured home connected stock snapshot for June 6.22.2021.

 

 

Next, is our evening market report and related left-right headlines.

The Business Daily Manufactured Home Industry Connected Stock Market Updates.  Plus, Market Moving Left (CNN) – Right (Newsmax) Headlines Snapshot. While the layout of this business daily report has recently been modified, several elements of the basic concepts used previously are still the same. The headlines that follow below can be reviewed at a glance to save time while providing insights across the left-right media divide. Additionally, those headlines often provide clues as to possible ‘market moving’ items.

 

Market Indicator Closing Summaries – Yahoo Finance Closing Tickers on MHProNews…

Headlines from left-of-center CNN Business = evening of 6.22.2021

• Buyers get squeezed
• Single family homes line the streets of Clairemont on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020 in San Diego, CA.
• Home prices in the US hit another record, but sales are slowing down
• Microsoft reaches a $2 trillion market cap
• Why Americans aren’t in a rush to go back to their ‘normal’ jobs
• Coinbase plunges along with bitcoin and the rest of crypto
• Bitcoin plunges below $30,000 as China ramps up the pressure on cryptos
• Google is under more scrutiny for its advertisement business
• Government spending ‘fatigue’ is a risk worth watching
• Intern blooper leads to slew of hilarious confessions
• There’s a chicken wing shortage. So this chain wants you to start loving thighs
• This company just gave its entire team a week of PTO
• McDonald’s wants to give you a free chicken sandwich
• Your company could offer this new fitness benefit
• MotorTrend: Yes, the Tesla Model S Plaid can go 0-60 in two seconds, but there’s a catch
• Abigail Disney, president and chief executive officer of Fork Films, speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., on Tuesday, April 30, 2019. The conference brings together leaders in business, government, technology, philanthropy, academia, and the media to discuss actionable and collaborative solutions to some of the most important questions of our time.
• Abigail Disney: Executives would rather be shot than fly first class
• Paul Walker drove this car 20 years ago in ‘Fast and Furious’. It just sold
• How to retire a millionaire
• MARKETS
• RETURN TO WORK
• Pedestrians walk along a street in the Financial District of New York, U.S., on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. With 37% of Manhattan fully vaccinated, the city’s finance industry, slowly, is getting back into the office.
• Here are the companies not rushing workers back to the office
• Morgan Stanley wants NYC workers back in September
• Wall Street is in a rush to get back to the office
• BofA employees have a September deadline
• Goldman Sachs asks staff to report vaccination
• MEDIA NEWS
• Steven Spielberg arrives to the Los Angeles premiere of Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” held at Walt Disney Concert Hall on June 12, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.
• Netflix just landed Hollywood’s top director — a major coup for the streaming service
• Nielsen data shows that cable TV reigns supreme
• ‘Friends’ actor reveals cancer fight
• Advertisers pull out from GB News days after launch
• Meghan hopes all kids feel represented in her book

Headlines from right-of-center Newsmax – evening of 6.22.2021

• Trump: ‘I Never Admitted Defeat’ in 2020
• (Getty Images)
• Former President Donald Trump denied that he ever admitted defeat in last year’s presidential election, telling David Brody that if former Vice President Mike Pence had sent disputed election results back to state legislatures for review the nation “might very well have a different president right now.” [Full Story]
• Newsmax TV
• Estes: Biden Is Creating an ‘Economic Crisis’
• Texas AG Paxton: State Building Wall to Protect All Americans |
• Nigel Farage: ‘Don’t Trust Boris Johnson’ |
• Mark Morgan: Ending Title 42 Sends Wrong Border Message |
• John Bolton: Iran Nuke Deal Based on ‘a Fantasy’ |
• Lewandowski: ‘People Are Tired Of’ Politicized Justice |
• Michael Reagan: ‘Good’ Bishops Standing Up to Biden on Abortion |
• Dick Morris: Dems Voting Bill Is ‘Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing’ |
• Vito Fossella: Running to Protect Staten Island From Crime |
• More Newsmax TV
• Newsfront
• 8 Arrested in Climate Protest at Sen. Cruz’s Houston Home
• Eight people were reportedly arrested after trespassing during a climate change protest Monday outside of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s home in Houston. A group of roughly 60-70 people arrived at the sidewalk…… [Full Story]
• Poll: Biden Job Approval Dips
• A new poll from American Research Group shows that President Joe [Full Story]
• Senate War Powers Vote Now Delayed Until at Least July
• The U.S. Senate will not vote until at least July on a closely [Full Story]
• Newsmax Contributors Grow With J. Hogan Gidley, Jenna Ellis
• Hogan Gidley, a former top official in the Trump White House, and [Full Story]
• Rubio Says Only Strong US Leadership Can Stop Another Virus Outbreak
• Marco Rubio, R-Fla., on Tuesday said only “strong American [Full Story]
• Regulating Google Could Level Playing Field for Small Businesses
• Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost says he just wants Google to play [Full Story] |
• 2 Georgia Counties Recover Costs From Trump Election Lawsuit
• Cobb and DeKalb counties in Georgia have received payments for legal [Full Story]
• Ric Grenell Co-Hosts ‘Wake Up America’ This Week
• The former ambassador and former acting director of national [Full Story]
• White House: Likely to Fall Short of July 4 COVID Vaccination Goal
• President Joe Biden probably will fall short of the July 4 deadline [Full Story]
• Manchin Backs Debating Voting Bill That GOP Vows to Block
• Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said he’d vote with his party to begin [Full Story]
• Poll: Majority Say Biden Made Headway With Putin in Summit
• Fifty-two percent of voters say President Joe Biden made at least [Full Story]
• EU, US Vow to Fight Ransomware Together
• The United States and European governments have agreed to work [Full Story]
• Trump Org Sues NYC Over Golf Course Contract Cancelation
• The Trump Organization is suing New York City for ending its contract [Full Story]
• NCAA: Justice Kavanaugh’s Opinion on Paying Athletes ‘His Own View’
• The NCAA dismissed a blistering concurring opinion by Justice Brett [Full Story]
• Peter Daszak ‘Recused’ From COVID-19 Origins Commission
• Amid conflict of interest concerns, EcoHealth Alliance President [Full Story] |
• ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Twilight Zone’ Actress Joanne Linville Dead at 93
• Joanne Linville, known for her roles in “Star Trek” and “The Twilight [Full Story]
• US Opens $500 Million Fund for Relatives of Boeing 737 MAX Victims
• A $500 million U.S. victim compensation fund for the relatives of 346 [Full Story]
• Lancet Posts Update on Controversial COVID-19 Letter
• The British medical journal The Lancet has posted an update on a [Full Story]
• ‘Team Trump’ Ads Seen on Facebook Despite Ban
• Although Facebook banned former President Donald Trump until at least [Full Story]
• Troubling Trend: Young Men Are Dying From Colorectal Cancer
• Actor Chadwick Boseman died last year at the age of 43 from stage 4 [Full Story]
• Trump: I Have Not Conceded 2020 Election
• Former President Donald Trump denied that he ever admitted defeat in [Full Story]
• Jason Miller: Trump Doesn’t Want to Be Speaker of the House
• Former President Donald Trump doesn’t want to be Speaker of the [Full Story]
• Sinema: Filibuster Needed to Help Both Parties Long-Term
• Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., reiterated her opposition to [Full Story]
• Legal Experts: Bias in Handling of Riots, Capitol Protest
• Veteran defense attorneys and former prosecutors are noting a stark [Full Story] |
• Whitehouse Defends Membership in Allegedly All-White Beach Club
• Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., is defending his family’s membership [Full Story]
• Mike Lee to Newsmax: GOP Will Do ‘Everything’ to Stop Voting Rights Bill
• Senate Republicans will do “anything and everything we can,” [Full Story]
• WWII Medal of Honor Recipient Sees Great-Grandson Complete Boot Camp
• Legendary Marine Hershel “Woody” Williams, the last living Medal of [Full Story]
• Billie Eilish Apologizes for Racial Slur in Resurfaced Video
• Billie Eilish has addressed racist accusations that were sparked [Full Story]
• Biden Weighs Extending Federal Freeze on Evictions
• The White House is considering extending the federal moratorium on [Full Story]
• NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Adams: Nobody Will ‘Steal the Election From Me’
• New York City mayoral Democrat front-runner Eric Adams said “no one [Full Story]
• More Newsfront
• Finance
• Bitcoin Sinks Below $30,000 for 1st Time Since January
• Bitcoin’s decline amid a crypto crackdown from China has pushed it below $30,000 for the first time since January, nearly pulverizing its entire 2021 gain. The original cryptocurrency has lost more than 50% from its mid-April high… [Full Story]
• Google Shuts Down Engineering Residency Amid Protests Over ‘Inequities’
• Lawmakers Likely to Press Powell on Fed’s ‘Hawkish’ Turn
• Exxon Prepares to Cull US White-Collar Ranks by Up to 10 Percent
• Coin Shares: Bitcoin Sees 6th Straight Week of Outflows
• More Finance
• Health
• Troubling Trend: Young Men Are Dying From Colorectal Cancer
• Actor Chadwick Boseman died last year at the age of 43 from stage 4 colon cancer. The “Black Panther” star represents a troubling trend of men younger than 49 who are at an unusually high risk of dying from colorectal cancer. According to a study published in the American… [Full Story]
• Coffee Lowers Risk for Liver Disease
• Memories Start at an Earlier Age Than Previously Thought
• Technology Used in COVID-19 Vaccines Could Treat Cancer
• COVID-19 Brain Changes Similar to Alzheimer’s Disease

Manufactured Housing Industry Investments Connected Equities Closing Tickers

Some of these firms invest in manufactured housing, or are otherwise connected, but may do other forms of investing or business activities too.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • NOTE: The chart below includes the Canadian stock, ECN, which purchased Triad Financial Services, a manufactured home industry lender
                        • NOTE: Drew changed its name and trading symbol at the end of 2016 to Lippert (LCII).
                        • NOTE: Deer Valley was largely taken private, say company insiders in a message to MHProNews on 12.15.2020, but there are still some outstanding shares of  the stock from the days when it was a publicly traded firm.  Thus, there is still periodic activity on DVLY.

Spring 2021…

Berkshire Hathaway is the parent company to Clayton Homes, 21^st Mortgage, Vanderbilt Mortgage and other factory built housing industry suppliers.
· LCI Industries, Patrick, UFPI, and LP each are suppliers to the manufactured housing industry, among others.
· AMG, CG, and TAVFX have investments in manufactured housing related businesses. For insights from third-parties and clients about our publisher, click here.
Enjoy these ‘blast from the past’ comments.

MHProNews. MHProNews – previously a.k.a. MHMSM.com – has celebrated our 11th year of publishing, and is starting our 12the year of serving the industry as the runaway most-read trade media.

Sample Kudos over the years…

It is now 11+ years and counting…

Learn more about our evolutionary journey as the industry’s leading trade media, at the report linked below.

· For expert manufactured housing business development or other professional services, click here.
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Disclosure. MHProNews holds no positions in the stocks in this report.

That’s a wrap on this installment of “News Through the Lens of Manufactured Homes and Factory-Built Housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, stock, investing, data, metrics, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) (See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)

By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHProNews.
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.