April 2025 - Page 2 of 3 - Hillwood Loves Realtor

Permits Pullback in February 2025

Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington2025-04-15T09:19:44-05:00

Permits continue the downward trend for the second month in a row. Over the first two months of 2025, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 147,119. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a decline of 5.2% over the February 2024 level of 155,236. For multifamily, the total number of permits issued nationwide reached 72,979. This is 6.7% below the February 2024 level of 78,259. Year-to-date ending in February, single-family permits were down in all four regions. The Northeast posted the smallest decline of 0.1%, the Midwest was down by 3.0%, the West was down by 4.5% and the South was down by 6.3% in single-family permits during this time. For multifamily permits, two out of the four regions posted increases. The South was up by 11.8% and the Midwest was up by 9.7%. Meanwhile, the West posted a decline of 18.0% and the Northeast declined steeply by 45.2%. Between February 2025 YTD and February 2024 YTD, 19 states and the District of Columbia posted an increase in single-family permits. The range of increases spanned 133.3% in the District of Columbia to 0.1% in New Jersey. The remaining 31 states reported declines in single-family permits with West Virginia reporting the steepest decline of 21.1%. The ten states issuing the highest number of single-family permits combined accounted for 65.6% of the total single-family permits issued. Texas, the state with the highest number of single-family permits, issued 24,960 permits over the first two months 2025, which is a decline of 5.6% compared to the same period last year. The second highest state, Florida, was down by 8.3%, while the third highest, North Carolina, posted a decline of 4.5%. Between February 2025 YTD and February 2024 YTD, 26 states and the District of Columbia recorded growth in multifamily permits, while 24 states recorded a decline. Iowa (+177.4%) led the way with a sharp rise in multifamily permits from 354 to 982, while Arizona had the biggest decline of 67.5% from 3,209 to 1,044. The ten states issuing the highest number of multifamily permits combined accounted for 63.2% of the multifamily permits issued. Over the first two months of 2025, Florida, the state with the highest number of multifamily permits issued, experienced an increase of 63.0%. Texas, the second-highest state in multifamily permits, saw a decline of 9.0%. California, the third largest multifamily issuing state, decreased by 21.7%. At the local level, below are the top ten metro areas that issued the highest number of single-family permits. For multifamily permits, below are the top ten local areas that issued the highest number of permits. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Permits Pullback in February 2025Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington2025-04-15T09:19:44-05:00

Better Understand Your Listing Options When You Sell

Texas REALTORS Staff2025-04-15T01:15:51-05:00

Did you know there are alternative ways to market your home, and you can control where and how your property is shown online? The National Association of REALTORS® published a guide to these listing options to help sellers like you understand all the ways you can display your home in the multiple listing service. Don’t worry: A REALTOR® can assist you developing the marketing strategy that’s right for you. Find one here.

Better Understand Your Listing Options When You SellTexas REALTORS Staff2025-04-15T01:15:51-05:00

Where Do Builders and Remodelers Buy Building Products?

Eric Lynch2025-04-14T08:19:20-05:00

The most common sources for products used in home building and remodeling are specialty retailers, lumber yards, and wholesale distributors, according to two recent NAHB surveys. The surveys include one of single-family homebuilders in the October 2024 NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) and one of remodelers in the Q3 2024 NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI). Both surveys asked respondents where they purchase building products, regardless of who ultimately purchases them (themselves or subcontractors) When averaging across 24 building product categories, the top three major channels of distribution are roughly the same for both builders and remodelers. Specialty retailers, lumber yards, and wholesale distributors together account for around 70% of building product purchases. When analyzing the specific products purchased at lumber yards, the top products purchased by both builders and remodelers were basic lumber products including plywood & OSB, sawn lumber, and engineered lumber & I-joists. One major difference between builders and remodelers was the share of those who purchase products from home improvement centers. Remodelers are three times as likely to buy products at this channel of distribution compared to builders. Nevertheless, one specific product category, hand & power tools, is purchased at home improvement centers by a majority of both remodelers (68%) and builders (56%). Of those that do purchase hand & power tools at home improvement centers, 11% of remodelers purchased at least one other product there compared to 3% of builders. A subsequent post on who is most often responsible for choosing these products will come later. Please click here to be redirected to the full report. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Where Do Builders and Remodelers Buy Building Products?Eric Lynch2025-04-14T08:19:20-05:00

Building Material Prices Continue to Grow at Slower Pace

Jesse Wade2025-04-11T11:24:31-05:00

Prices for inputs to new residential construction—excluding capital investment, labor, and imports—were up 0.6% in March according to the most recent Producer Price Index (PPI) report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increase in February was revised upward to 0.7%. The Producer Price Index measures prices that domestic producers receive for their goods and services; this differs from the Consumer Price Index which measures what consumers pay and includes both domestic products as well as imports. The inputs to the New Residential Construction Price Index grew 1.3% from March of last year. The index can be broken into two components—the goods component also increased 1.3% over the year, with services increasing 1.3% as well. For comparison, the total final demand index, which measures all goods and services across the economy, increased 2.7% over the year, with final demand with respect to goods up 0.9% and final demand for services up 3.6% over the year. Input Goods The goods component has a larger importance to the total residential construction inputs price index, representing around 60%. For the month, the price of input goods to new residential construction was up 0.5% in March. The input goods to residential construction index can be further broken down into two separate components, one measuring energy inputs with the other measuring goods less energy inputs. The latter of these two components simply represents building materials used in residential construction, which makes up around 93% of the goods index. Energy input prices fell 3.9% between February and March and were 14.9% lower than one year ago. Building material prices were up 0.8% between February and March and up 2.7% compared to one year ago. Energy costs have continued to fall on a year-over-year basis, as this marks the eighth consecutive month of lower input energy costs. Metal products used in residential construction saw the largest price increases in the month of March. Across all inputs to new residential construction, ornamental and architectural metal work increased the most, up 21.0%. Ornamental and architectural metal work products increased 11.2% on a month-to-month basis, by far their largest monthly increase for the product, with the next closes being 7.9% back in October of 2021. Input Services While prices of inputs to residential construction for services were down 0.1% over the year, they were up 1.1% in March from February. The price index for service inputs to residential construction can be broken out into three separate components: a trade services component, a transportation and warehousing services component, and a services excluding trade, transportation and warehousing component (other services). The most significant component is trade services (around 60%), followed by other services (around 29%), and finally transportation and warehousing services (around 11%). The largest component, trade services, was up 0.7% from a year ago. The other services component was up 1.6% over the year. Lastly, prices for transportation and warehousing services advanced 3.6% compared to March last year. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Building Material Prices Continue to Grow at Slower PaceJesse Wade2025-04-11T11:24:31-05:00

Inflation Cooled in March

Fan-Yu Kuo2025-04-10T10:21:21-05:00

Inflation slowed to a 6-month low in March, largely driven by lower energy costs, especially in gasoline prices. Despite the easing, the report likely only captures part of the first wave of global tariffs announcement. The inflationary pressure from tariffs and escalating trade war continues to threaten the economic growth and complicate the Fed’s path to its 2% target. Meanwhile, while housing inflation remains elevated, it continues to show signs of cooling – the year-over-year change in the shelter index remained below 5% for a seven straight month and posted its lowest annual gain since November 2021. While the Fed’s interest rate cuts could help ease some pressure on the housing market, its ability to address rising housing costs is limited, as these increases are driven by a lack of affordable supply and increasing development costs. In fact, tight monetary policy hurts housing supply because it increases the cost of AD&C financing. This can be seen on the graph below, as shelter costs continue to rise at an elevated pace despite Fed policy tightening. Additional housing supply is the primary solution to tame housing inflation and with it, overall inflation. This emphasizes why the cost of construction, including the cost of building materials, matters not just for housing but also the inflation outlook and the path of future monetary policy. Consequently, the election result has put inflation back in the spotlight and added additional upside and downside risks to the economic outlook. Proposed tax cuts and tariffs could increase inflationary pressures, suggesting a more gradual easing cycle with a slightly higher terminal federal funds rate. However, economic growth could also be higher with lower regulatory burdens. Given the housing market’s sensitivity to interest rates, a higher inflation path could extend the affordability crisis and constrain housing supply as builders continue to grapple with lingering supply chain challenges. During the past twelve months, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index rose by 2.4% in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report. This followed a 2.8% year-over-year increase in February. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the “core” CPI increased by 2.8% over the past twelve months, the smallest increase since March 2021. A large portion of the “core” CPI is the housing shelter index, which increased 4.0% over the year, the smallest year-over-year increase since November 2021. Meanwhile, the component index of food rose by 3.0%, and the energy component index fell by 3.3%. On a monthly basis, the CPI fell by 0.1% in March (seasonally-adjusted), after a 0.2% increase in February. This was the first time the monthly CPI has fallen since May 2020. The “core” CPI increased by 0.1% in March. The price index for a broad set of energy sources fell by 2.4% in March, with declines in gasoline (-6.3%) offset by increases in electricity (+0.9%) andnatural gas (+3.6%). Meanwhile, the food index rose 0.4%, after a 0.2% increase in February. The index for food away from home increased by 0.4% and the index for food at home rose by 0.5%. Despite the overall monthly CPI decline, several indexes increased in March including personal care (+1.0%), medical care (+0.2%), education (+0.4%), apparel (+0.4%), as well as new vehicles (+0.1%). Meanwhile, the index for airline fares (-5.3%), used cars and trucks (-0.7%) and recreation (-0.3%) were among the major indexes that decreased over the month. The index for shelter makes up more than 40% of the “core” CPI, rose by 0.2% in March, following an increase of 0.3% in February. The index for owners’ equivalent rent (OER) rose by 0.4% and index for rent of primary residence (RPR) increased by 0.3% over the month. Despite the moderation, shelter costs remained the largest contributors to headline inflation. NAHB constructs a “real” rent index to indicate whether inflation in rents is faster or slower than core inflation. It provides insight into the supply and demand conditions for rental housing. When inflation in rents is rising faster than core inflation, the real rent index rises and vice versa. The real rent index is calculated by dividing the price index for rent by the core CPI (to exclude the volatile food and energy components). In March, the Real Rent Index rose by 0.3%. Over the first three months of 2025, the monthly growth rate of the Real Rent Index averaged at 0.1%, higher than 0.0% from the same period in 2024. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Inflation Cooled in MarchFan-Yu Kuo2025-04-10T10:21:21-05:00

Remodeling Market Sentiment Down in First Quarter

Eric Lynch2025-04-10T09:14:27-05:00

Sentiment declined among remodelers in the first quarter of 2025, following a similar trend last month in single-family home builder sentiment. The NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 63 in the first quarter, down five points compared to the previous quarter. While this reading is still in positive territory, this is only the second time since the first quarter of 2020 that the RMI has been as low as 63. Tariffs and economic uncertainty were top-of-mind for consumers this quarter. Although almost all the data for the first quarter RMI were collected before the release of specific reciprocal tariffs, the debate and uncertainty over tariffs has had an effect on consumer confidence. Moreover, remodelers responding to the special questions as part of the RMI survey reported that their suppliers have already increased prices by an average of 6.9% since January 20, due to the anticipated effect of tariffs. Nevertheless, strong tailwind factors, such as an aging population, aging housing stock, home equity gains post-COVID, and “locked-in” (definition) existing homeowners, will continue to keep remodeling spending solid for the foreseeable future according to NAHB’s forecast. The RMI is based on a survey that asks remodelers to rate various aspects of the residential remodeling market “good”, “fair” or “poor.” Responses from each question are converted to an index that lies on a scale from 0 to 100. An index number above 50 indicates a higher proportion of respondents view conditions as good rather than poor. Current Conditions The Remodeling Market Index (RMI) is an average of two major component indices: the Current Conditions Index and the Future Indicators Index. The Current Conditions Index is an average of three subcomponents: the current market for large remodeling projects ($50,000 or more), moderately sized projects ($20,000 to $49,999), and small projects (under $20,000). In the first quarter of 2025, the Current Conditions Index averaged 71, dropping four points from the previous quarter. While the component measuring small-sized projects remained unchanged at 76, moderately-sized remodeling projects inched down one point to 72 and large remodeling projects fell 11 points to 64. However, all three components remained above 50 in positive territory. Future Indicators The Future Indicators Index is an average of two subcomponents: the current rate at which leads and inquiries are coming in, and the current backlog of remodeling projects. In the first quarter of 2025, the Future Indicators Index averaged 55, down six points from the previous quarter. Both subcomponents experienced decreases quarter-over-quarter, with the component measuring the backlog of remodeling jobs inched down one point to 58 and the component measuring the current rate at which leads and inquiries are coming in fell 11 points to 51. For the full set of RMI tables, including regional indices and a complete history for each RMI component, please visit NAHB’s RMI web page. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Remodeling Market Sentiment Down in First QuarterEric Lynch2025-04-10T09:14:27-05:00

Almost Half of the Owner-Occupied Homes Built Before 1980

Na Zhao2025-04-08T08:16:35-05:00

Around 48% of the U.S. housing stocks dates back to the 1980s and earlier. The median age of owner-occupied homes has climbed to 41 years in 2023, up from 31 years in 2005 according to the latest data from the American Community Survey[1]. The U.S. owner-occupied housing stock has aged rapidly particularly, particularly since the Great Recession, as the residential construction continues to fall behind in delivering new homes. Currently, new home construction faces headwinds such as rising material costs, persistent labor shortage and elevated interest rates. These challenges have contributed to an insufficient supply of new construction, making the nation’s owner-occupied housing stock significantly older over time. As a result, the aging housing stock signals a future growing remodeling market. Older structures require updates to add new amenities or need repairs or replacements of old components. Moreover, the lock-in effect from historically low mortgage rates during the pandemic period has led many homeowners to stay put and renovate their existing homes to accommodate the growing needs of their families. Over the long run, the aging of the housing stock implies that remodeling may grow faster than new construction. From 2020 to 2023, new construction added nearly 2.6 million owner-occupied homes, accounting for only 3% of total owner-occupied housing stock as of 2023. Relatively newer homes built between 2010 and 2019 took up around 9% of the stock, while those constructed between 2000 and 2009 made up 15%. In contrast, around 48% of the owner-occupied homes were built before 1980, including around 35% built before 1970. Due to modest supply of housing construction, the share of relatively newer owner-occupied homes (those built within past 13 years) has declined greatly, from 18% in 2013 to only 12% in 2023. Meanwhile, the share of older homes that are at least 44 years old has increased significantly, rising from 39% in 2013 to 48% in 2023. This shift further reflects the ongoing aging of the U.S. housing stock, highlighting the growing importance of the remodeling sector to address the growing needs of homeowners nationwide. [1] : Census Bureau did not release the standard 2020 1-year American Community Survey (ACS) due to the data collection disruptions experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data quality issues for some topics remain in the experimental estimates of the 2020 data. To be cautious, the 2020 experimental data is not included in the analysis. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Almost Half of the Owner-Occupied Homes Built Before 1980Na Zhao2025-04-08T08:16:35-05:00

Refinancing Continues to Drive Mortgage Activity in March

Catherine Koh2025-04-07T09:14:41-05:00

The Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume based on the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) weekly survey, rose 14.0% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis, driven primarily by a surge in refinancing activity. Year-over-year, the index is up 29.2% compared to March 2024. The Purchase Index rebounded 8.3% (SA) from the previous month as mortgage rates declined. Meanwhile, the Refinance Index surged 22.2% (SA), continuing its strong upward trend. Compared to a year ago, purchase applications are up 7.6%, while refinance activity has jumped 72.9%. Economic uncertainty continues to drive treasury yield volatility, impacting mortgage rates. In March, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reported in the MBA survey fell 17 basis points (bps) to 6.7%, marking a 23 bps decline from a year ago. Loan sizes have continued to rise since the start of the year. In March, the average loan size across the total market (including purchases and refinances) increased 3.5% month-over-month (NSA) to $403,300. For purchase loans, the average size edged up 0.9% to $450,000, while refinance loans saw a sharper increase of 10.4%, reaching $337,500. Meanwhile, the average loan size for adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) rose slightly by 1.1%, from $1.13 million to $1.14 million. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Refinancing Continues to Drive Mortgage Activity in MarchCatherine Koh2025-04-07T09:14:41-05:00

U.S. Economy Added 228,000 Jobs in March

Jing Fu2025-04-04T10:21:20-05:00

The U.S. job market unexpectedly accelerated in March, while the figures for January and February were revised downward substantially. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4.2% in March, from 4.1% the previous month. This month’s jobs report highlights the continued resilience of the labor market despite sticky inflation, a drop in consumer confidence, mass federal government layoffs, and growing economic uncertainty. Noticeably, residential construction employment has shown signs of weakness in recent months. In March, the six-month moving average of job gains for residential construction turned negative for the first time since August 2020. It reflects three significant drops in employment: 8,400 jobs in October 2024, 6,700 jobs in January 2025, and 9,800 jobs in March 2025. Additionally, the construction job openings rate has returned to 2019 levels, driven by a slowdown in construction activity. In March, wage growth slowed. Year-over-year, wages grew at a 3.8% rate, down 0.3 percentage points from a year ago. Wage growth has been outpacing inflation for nearly two years, which typically occurs as productivity increases. National Employment According to the Employment Situation Summary reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 228,000 in March, following a downwardly revised increase of 117,000 jobs in February. Since January 2021, the U.S. job market has added jobs for 51 consecutive months, making it the third-longest period of employment expansion on record. The estimates for the previous two months were revised down. The monthly change in total nonfarm payroll employment for January was revised down by 14,000 from +125,000 to +111,000, while the change for February was revised down by 34,000 from +151,000 to +117,000. Combined, the revisions were 48,000 lower than previously reported. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in March. While the number of employed persons increased by 201,000, the number of unemployed persons increased by 31,000. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate—the proportion of the population either looking for a job or already holding a job—rose one percentage point to 62.5%. For people aged between 25 and 54, the participation rate decreased two percentage points to 83.3%. While the overall labor force participation rate remains below its pre-pandemic levels of 63.3% at the beginning of 2020, the rate for people aged between 25 and 54 has been trending down since it peaked at 83.9% last summer. In March, employment rose in health care (+54,000), social assistance (+24,000), and transportation and warehousing (+23,000). Employment in retail trade also added 24,000 jobs in March, partially reflecting the return of workers from a strike. However, within the government sector, federal government employment saw a decline of 4,000, following a loss of 11,000 jobs in February. The BLS notes that “employees on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay are counted as employed in the establishment survey.” Construction Employment Employment in the overall construction sector increased by 13,000 in March, following a gain of 14,000 in February. While residential construction saw a decline of 9,800 jobs, non-residential construction employment added 22,300 jobs for the month. Residential construction employment now stands at 3.4 million in March, broken down as 958,000 builders and 2.4 million residential specialty trade contractors. The six-month moving average of job gains for residential construction was -2,883 a month, mainly reflecting the three months’ job loss over the past six months (October 2024, January 2025 and March 2025). Over the last 12 months, home builders and remodelers added 14,000 jobs on a net basis. Since the low point following the Great Recession, residential construction has gained 1,367,600 positions. In March, the unemployment rate for construction workers declined to 4.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The unemployment rate for construction workers has remained at a relatively lower level, after reaching 15.3% in April 2020 due to the housing demand impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

U.S. Economy Added 228,000 Jobs in MarchJing Fu2025-04-04T10:21:20-05:00

Manufactured Homes: An Alternative Means of Housing Supply

Catherine Koh2025-04-03T09:25:14-05:00

Manufactured homes play a measurable role in the U.S. housing market by providing an affordable supply option for millions of households. According to the American Housing Survey (AHS), there are 7.2 million occupied manufactured homes in the U.S., representing 5.4% of total occupied housing and a source of affordable housing, in particular, for rural and lower income households. Often thought of as synonymous to “mobile homes” or “trailers”, manufactured homes are a specific type of factory-built housing that adheres to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards code. To qualify, a manufactured home must be a “movable dwelling, 8 feet or more wide and 40 feet or more long”, constructed on a permanent chassis. The East South Central division (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee) have the highest concentration of manufactured homes, representing 9.3% of total occupied housing. The Mountain region follows with 8.5%, while the South Atlantic region holds 7.7%. The 1990s saw a surge in manufactured home shipments, peaking in 1998. During this period, manufactured homes constituted 17% to 24% of new single-family homes1. However, shipments declined in the early 2000s, coinciding with a rapid increase in site-built housing construction leading up to the 2008 housing crisis. Since then, manufactured homes have stabilized at around 9% to 10% of new housing. Characteristics of the 2023 Manufactured Home Stock Given that most manufactured homes were produced in the 1990s, a significant portion of the existing manufactured home stock — approximately 72.2% — was built before 2000. Consequently, 7.7% of these homes are classified as inadequate compared to5% of all homes nationwide. About 2% are considered severely inadequate and exhibit “major deficiencies, such as exposed wiring, lack of electricity, missing hot or cold running water, or the absence of heating or cooling systems”. However, with proper maintenance, manufactured homes can be as durable as site-built homes. Currently, 57% of the occupied manufactured homes stock are single-section units, while 43% are multi-sections, according to the AHS. Single-section homes are manufactured homes that can be transported from factory to placement in a single piece while multi-sections are transported in multiple pieces and are joined on site. However, data from the Census show that newer shipments indicate a shift toward multi-section homes. Most single-section homes are less than 1,000 square feet and contain five total rooms in the house — typically two bedrooms and three bathrooms. In contrast, multi-section homes usually range from 1,000 to 2,000 square feet and have six rooms, comprising three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Demographics of Manufactured Homes Residents Manufactured homes serve as a crucial housing option, particularly for those living in rural or non-metro areas. AHS data highlight a stark contrast between the locations of single-family and manufactured home residents. While most manufactured home residents (53%) live in rural areas, single-family residents are mostly concentrated (67%) in urbanized areas — defined as territories with a population of 50,000 or more. In comparison, only 33% of manufactured home residents reside in urbanized areas. Residents of both manufactured and single-family homes are less common in urban clusters — areas with populations between 2,500 and 50,000 — comprising just 13% and 9%, respectively. The median age of a manufactured home householder is 55, the same as single-family householders. However, most manufactured home householders (37.8%) have an education attainment level of high school completion compared to single-family householders whose largest group (24.8%) have completed a bachelor’s degree. Income disparities are also significant. The median household income for manufactured home residents is $40,000, far below the $85,000 median income for single-family householders. The gap widens among homeowners, with manufactured homeowners earning a median of $41,500 versus $93,000 for single-family homeowners. Household CharacteristicManufactured Homes HouseholdSingle-Family HouseholdAge (Median)5555Majority Education Attainment LevelHigh school or equivalency (37.8%)Bachelor’s degree (24.8%)Annual Household Income (Median)$40,000$85,000Annual Household Income of Homeowners (Median)$41,500$93,000Sources: 2023 American Housing Survey (AHS) and NAHB analysis. Cost of Buying and Owning Manufactured Homes One of the key advantages of manufactured homes is affordability. The average cost per square foot for a new manufactured home in 2023 was $86.62, compared to $165.94 for a site-built home (excluding land costs) — a difference of $79.32 per square foot. This difference in cost has only grown over the decade from $51.84 per square foot in 2014. For a 1,500-square-foot home, this translates to a savings of approximately $118,980, and this savings has grown despite the average cost of manufactured homes increasing at a higher growth rate of 7.4% CAGR2 versus 6.1% CAGR for new single-family homes. Owning a manufactured home is also more affordable in total housing cost, which includes mortgage payments, insurance, taxes, utilities and lot rent. According to the AHS, owners of a single-section manufactured home have a median total monthly housing cost of $563, while the cost for a multi-section home is $805. In contrast, the median monthly cost of owning a single-family home is $1,410. Despite the lower costs associated with manufactured homes, affordability remains a challenge for many owners. Among single-section manufactured homeowners, 36.6% are considered cost-burdened, meaning they spend 30% or more of their income on housing. This is slightly higher than the 28.4% of multi-section manufactured homeowners and the 27.6% of single-family homeowners facing similar financial strain. This disparity underscores the reality that even though manufactured homes are a more affordable option, lower-income households are still disproportionately burdened by housing costs. Manufactured Home Pricing Data on manufactured home appreciation is limited. However, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) publishes a quarterly house price index for manufactured homes. Comparing the indices for manufactured and site-built homes, manufactured homes have closely followed the appreciation trends of their site-built counterparts. Between the first quarter of 2000 and the last quarter of 2024, the index value for manufactured homes increased by a cumulative 203.7%, slightly surpassing the 200.2% increase for site-built homes. This indicates that the manufactured home markets face much of the same demand opportunities and supply challenges of the broader housing market. It is important to note that this data reflects only manufactured homes financed through conventional mortgages as real property, acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises). In contrast, the majority of new manufactured homes are titled as personal property, which is not eligible for conventional mortgage financing because the Enterprises do not acquire chattel loans. Nonetheless, it is common for manufactured homes to be placed on private land even though the unit is under a personal property title — a title that applies to movable assets, such as vehicles, tools or equipment, and furniture, whereas a real estate property title includes land and any structures permanently attached to it. Despite this distinction, there has been a steady increase in the share of manufactured homes titled as real estate. Since 2014, the percentage of real estate-titled manufactured homes has grown from 13% to 20% in 2023, indicating a positive trend toward greater financial recognition and stability for these homes. Zoning Restrictions and the Future of Manufactured Homes Manufactured homes provide a cost-effective housing solution, particularly in rural areas where the transportation and material costs for site-built homes can be significantly higher. However, restrictive zoning laws often limit their placement in urban areas. Regulations such as bans on manufactured home communities and large lot size requirements can substantially increase costs, making it difficult to establish manufactured housing in cities. Reducing these zoning barriers could not only expand affordable housing options in high-cost urban areas but also improve access to essential services such as healthcare and economic opportunities for lower-income communities. A successful example of zoning reform comes from Jackson, Mississippi, where city officials partnered with the Mississippi Manufactured Housing Association (MMHA) to launch a pilot program highlighting the potential of prefabricated and manufactured homes as affordable housing solutions. As part of the initiative, the city revised its zoning regulations to distinguish manufactured and modular housing from pre-1976 “mobile homes,” which had long been banned. Previously, manufactured homes were classified under the same category, restricting their placement. The new ordinance now permits manufactured housing within city limits, albeit with a discretionary use permit, paving the way for greater affordability and accessibility in urban housing. Conclusion Manufactured homes make up only 5% of the total housing stock but provide an alternative form of housing that meets the needs of various households, particularly in rural areas. Although they offer a lower-cost option compared with site-built homes, factors such as an aging housing stock, financing limitations and zoning restrictions could influence their accessibility and long-term viability. Trends such as the increasing prevalence of multi-section homes and a growing share of units titled as real estate suggest a gradual shift in consumer preferences toward housing options that more closely resemble site-built homes in size, functionality and financing. As housing affordability remains a key concern, manufactured homes continue to play a role as an affordable supply in the broader housing landscape, and expanding their use through education, innovation and zoning reform could improve access to cost-effective housing. Footnotes: Calculated as the share of total single-family housing starts and total new manufactured home shipments.Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is the annualized average rate of growth over a period of time. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Manufactured Homes: An Alternative Means of Housing SupplyCatherine Koh2025-04-03T09:25:14-05:00

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