Manufactured housing might be the underdog of homeownership - affordable, efficient, and constantly underestimated. It's like the Rocky Balboa of real estate. Let's hope it doesn't have to go toe-to-toe with any zoning regulations in the ring (more on that later 👇).

Who needs a McMansion when you can have a McManufactured? Manufactured homes are more scalable, affordable, and environmentally sustainable than traditional stick-built single-family homes.

It's the Happy Meal of housing!

In a landscape where homeownership seems increasingly out of reach for many, manufactured housing emerges as a beacon of hope, offering a pathway to affordable homeownership.

A recent Harvard study analyzes three common types of manufactured homes: single-section, double-section, and the recently introduced CrossMod, which emulates the appearance standard of site-built homes.

The cost-savings of manufactured is impressive…

This cost disparity has the potential to make homeownership significantly more attainable for low- and moderate-income households, particularly as home value growth continues to outpace income increases.

Despite this, the delivery of manufactured homes has been relatively low historically.

While the promise of manufactured housing as a cost-effective solution is evident, the road to wider adoption faces several barriers. Reed, along with Alexander Hermann and Dan McCue, conducted a follow-up study that looked at the challenges faced by developers and offered insights into potential solutions.

🤮 Stigma - One key insight from the case studies is the crucial role of education and advocacy in reshaping perceptions of manufactured housing. Despite its affordability advantages, manufactured housing often faces stigma and opposition rooted in misconceptions about quality and aesthetics. Efforts to educate local officials and communities are essential for dispelling these misconceptions and obtaining necessary approvals for projects.

🚫 Zoning - Regulatory restrictions also pose a significant challenge to the widespread adoption of manufactured housing. While some projects have successfully changed zoning codes to allow for manufactured homes, such efforts are often met with resistance and require extensive advocacy campaigns.

Developers often navigate a complex regulatory landscape, opting to build outside city limits or in communities where manufactured housing is not explicitly prohibited.

💨 Political Tailwinds - More politicians are wising up to the promise of this asset class. Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced several policy initiatives to expand the production and adoption of manufactured homes.

This includes the introduction of a $225M funding opportunity under the Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) grants, which aims to support the preservation and revitalization of manufactured housing communities.

Additionally, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is enhancing financing options to preserve affordability in these communities against corporate rent hikes, allowing resident cooperatives to use FHA multifamily loans for acquiring or refinancing communities. The FHA also increased the loan limits for its Title I Manufactured Housing program to serve low-income and first-time buyers better, complemented by Ginnie Mae’s revised eligibility criteria to boost participation in its securitization program for these loans. These measures collectively aim to bolster the manufactured housing sector and maintain its affordability.

The findings from these studies underscore the urgent need for efforts to promote and expand the use of manufactured housing in housing development strategies.

By harnessing its potential, we can make meaningful strides toward addressing housing affordability challenges and ensuring that homeownership remains within reach for all.

Forget Parking Minimums: In 2022, Boeing invested $450 million in Wisk, a company developing autonomous flying taxis, and fully absorbed the company by 2023. By 2030, Boeing plans to have Wisk's flying taxis operating in Asia, according to Boeing's Chief Technology Officer, Todd Citron. The exact location in Asia and whether Boeing will operate the taxi service directly or sell the aircraft to other companies is unknown. Wisk's vehicles, known as electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOLs), are designed to reduce pollution from cars by being electric and airborne. Wisk is currently working on getting its vehicles approved by the Federal Aviation Administration in the US and has agreements with Sugar Land, Texas, and Long Beach, California, to implement its technology. (QZ)

Wallets Weep: The latest Yardi Matrix national multifamily market report reveals that rents in the US saw the strongest gain in 20 months, with an increase of $8 to $1,721 in March, marking a 0.9% year-over-year increase. Rent growth was even across asset classes, up 0.5%. The report also notes that multifamily loans totaling $525 billion will mature by the end of 2029. Single-family rents also rose 1.2% year-over-year through March to $2,144. The report highlights that markets in the Midwest and Northeast continued to outperform, led by New York City, with a 5.0% year-over-year increase. However, Austin was the weakest performer in rent growth, down 5.9%. The national lease renewal rate was 64.8% in January, the first dip below 65.0% over two years. The national asking for single-family rentals rose $9 in March to $2,144, a 1.2% year-over-year increase. (Yardi Matrix)

Love Chips: President Biden has announced $6.1B in federal grants for Micron Technology to boost domestic U.S. semiconductor chip production and compete with China. The funds will be used to build a manufacturing campus in Syracuse, New York, and a factory in Boise, Idaho. The Syracuse facilities are expected to be operational by 2028 and 2029, while the Idaho facility is expected to be ready by 2026. The projects are predicted to create 20,000 construction and manufacturing jobs and tens of thousands of indirect jobs. The investment is part of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, a response to chip shortages during the 2020 pandemic that caused a 26% drop in global auto production in the first nine months of 2021. Biden also announced the creation of new "workforce hubs" in Syracuse, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Detroit to support the chip factories. (NPR)