Washington, D.C., June 3, 2019 – The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) reports that according to official statistics compiled on behalf of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), year-over-year HUD Code manufactured home production declined again in April 2019, albeit at a moderating pace. Just-released statistics indicate that HUD Code manufacturers produced 7,993 homes in April 2019, down 3.2% from the 8,262 homes produced in April 2018. Cumulative industry production for 2019 now totals 30,352 homes, a decline of 10.1% from the 33,793 HUD Code homes produced over the same period in 2018.
While the production statistics for April 2019 show a moderation in the double-digit production decline that has thus far characterized 2019, the fact that there is any production decline at allin the face of continuing strong demand for affordable housing and homeownership highlights the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – thus far – to implement the Duty to Serve Underserved Markets (DTS), particularly with respect to the personal property loans which account for nearly 80% of the manufactured housing consumer finance market. That failure, more than a decade after the enactment of DTS, effectively forces consumers into higher-rate loans that cost more than would be the case if there was, in fact, proper, market-significant DTS securitization and secondary market support, which would lower risks for lenders and promote greater competition within the HUD Code consumer finance market. This, in turn, needlessly excludes potential buyers from the HUD Code market altogether, while making it more difficult for others to finance the purchase of a HUD Code home, both of which suppress overall market volume. As more and more questions are being raised in Washington, D.C. by the press, government figures and others regarding such issues, it is becoming increasingly apparent that this matter can, should and must be looked-into further.
A further analysis of the official industry statistics shows that the top ten shipment states from the beginning of the industry production rebound in August 2011 through April 2019 — with cumulative, monthly, current year (2019) and prior year (2018) shipments per category as indicated — are:
The latest information for April 2019 results in no changes to the cumulative shipments list.
The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform is a Washington, D.C.-based national trade association representing the views and interests of independent producers of federally-regulated manufactured housing.
