George Allen / EducateMHC Blog Mobile Home & Land Lease Community Advocate & Expert

February 3, 2022

COMPARING HOUSING PRICES!

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 2:11 pm

Blog Posting # 675 @ 4 February 2022: EducateMHC

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing!’

EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource & textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America!

To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email gfa7156@aol.com and/or visit www.educatemhc.com Previous phone #s no longer connected.

Motto: ‘U Support US & WE Serve U!’ Goal: to promote HUD-Code manufactured housing and land lease communities as U.S> # 1 source of affordable attainable housing! Be MHM certified!

INTRODUCTION: OK; two somewhat related but different topics this time around. First, by how much, the price of (some) new HUD-Code manufactured homes, during year 2021, exceeded the benchmark FHFA House Price Index during the same period of time.*1 Then, comparing rental homesite rates at two – one on the east coast, another on the west coast, of the most luxurious (on one hand) and iconic (on the other) land lease communities in all the U.S.*2 No potpourri this week.

End Notes.

1. FHFA = Federal Housing Finance Agency (oversees the two GSEs: Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac).

2. ‘Iconic’ = “a representation that stands for something by virtue of a resemblance or analogy of it”. Webster’s dictionary. In this case, as an example of what the ideal land lease community might be like.

I

COMPARING HOUSING PRICES!

Let’s begin with the FHFA House Price Index published to the public on 25 January 2022. Here goes: “FHFA House Price Index UP 1.1 Percent in November: Up 17.5 Percent from Last Year. Got that? 17.5% overall U.S. housing price index increase during year of the pandemic, 2022.

Now, quoting from email messages from veteran land lease community portfolio owners/operators who routinely buy new HUD-Code manufactured housing direct from factories, then sell/finance them on-site, once affixed to rental homesites within the properties:

“The base price of the _____model, on attached (factory) pricing ‘adjustment’ letters, increased from $65,826 during January 2021, to $85,505 during February 2022. That’s a 29.9 percent increase in 13 months!” (&)

“The attached spec price on a 3BR 16X76 manufactured home, with standard options, has increased from $45,787 in October 2020, to $56,125 during January 2022. That’s a 22.6 percent increase in 15 months.”

Bottom line? While not really comparing apples to apples (i.e. rather, all types of single family residential housing vs. new manufactured homes), it’s still instructive to observe how new HUD-Code manufactured housing is selling from 5.1 to 12.4 percent higher price than the national housing market at large.

A question for you, especially if you’re a dues-paying member of the Manufactured Housing Institute: Will this price imbalance, between housing at large and new manufactured homes be on the winter meeting agenda, 9-11 February, in New Orleans? Answer. At present, NO.

II.

RENTAL HOMESITE RATE EXTREMES

Now, before you go apoplectic on me, when reading what follows; understand this: the two land lease communities involved here are, for different reasons, well beyond the pale (‘a strictly bounded area’) of usual community characteristics.*1

First, the properties themselves. Baywood community, outside Lewes, DE., looks every bit the very upscale subdivision, featuring large two story homes on spacious rental homesites. And the property itself is surrounded by tournament grade golf courses, a fine dining restaurant, golf driving range, and so much more.

Lido Peninsula in Newport Beach, CA., is a really an old ‘mobile home park’ that’s been upgraded at least twice during the past two decades, with two story HUD-Code manufactured homes.*2 Here’s the secret ingredient. The two story (doll-like) houses are affixed to the same ‘footprint’ used by the original mobile homes of yore! That’s why they’re two stories in height. And the homeowners/site lessees panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean is breathtaking.

OK, now for the rental homesite rates characteristic of these two special properties.

A townhome, with 2,700 square feet living space, located on the 18th fairway at Baywood, is on sale today for $399,000. The lease fee? $1,419 per month; same as other rental homesites.

Average rental homesite rent at Lido Peninsula is more than $3,000 per month.

But know what? There are additional ‘special’ land lease communities scattered across the U.S. and Canada. In certain local housing markets where we can match, even better, conventional housing available for sale. Yes, and in certain rural areas of the U.S. it’s still possible to find, usually smaller, land lease communities, where rental homesite rents remain at. or only slightly more than, $100. per month.

End Notes.

1. Apoplectic = “a sudden, usually marked loss of bodily function due to rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel”. Webster’s dictionary

2. Lido Peninsula was built in 1949 with 26 units to the acre. Today, thanks to the forward-looking planning and efforts of Richard Bessire of Bessire & Casenhiser, new Fleetwood two story homes, at 1,200 square feet, are being sited and will likely rent for more than $7,500/month.

III.

RECOMMENDED ALTERNATIVE AGENDA

No, I won’t be attending MHI’s winter meeting in New Orleans on 9-11 February. Oh, I encourage you to attend, if you’re active in manufactured housing and or land lease communities. I just won’t be going – for good reason – beyond the fact I’m pretty much retired these days and soured on travel. No, it’s much more for the reason here following…

I prefer ‘meat & potato’ issues to be on the agenda of any national trade association meeting I attend, whether it be MHI, IREM, SECO, or otherwise. And just what are such issues? Already identified one candidate in Part I of this week’s blog posting. Here’re three more:

Dire need for Creation and Funding of a National Marketing Campaign, sans specific brand promotion, of HUD-Code manufactured housing! This has been of, sad to say, behind the scenes interest among some manufactured housing aficionados and land lease community owners/operators, since at least the Networking Roundtable held in Mystic, CT., nearly two decades ago. Kevin; remember? Many land lease community folk do. It’s time to act!

Is rampant Consolidation improving or destroying manufactured housing and land lease communities? Won’t attempt to ‘make the case’ either way here, but surely you’ve seen, read, and heard the pros & cons on both sides that fence. If not, ponder how and why only three ‘consolidating’ HUD-Code manufactured housing firms now boast more than 80 percent of national housing market share. And among communities, what to do about the predatory real estate investment and operation practices of some ‘consolidating’ firms nationwide these days?

When was the last time you heard these two troublesome topics discussed and debated – with an eye to resolution, at any national trade gathering during 2019, 2020, 2021, and now 2020?

There’s more I’d like to say on this timely, and in my opinion, critical alternative agenda subject, but won’t for now. But here’s a hint of are more ‘meat & potato’ issues begging attention.

• The perceived lack of ‘equity’ for manufactured homes and prospective purchasers of ‘affordable housing’

• An upcoming White Paper “…relating to the exploitation of federal housing funding and assistance, for purely public relations purposes, by ostensible representatives of the industry’s post-production sector.”*1

• How “…the two most dominant manufactured housing lenders…control a ‘combined 30 percent’ of the manufactured housing market, including 56 percent of chattel lending’….”

To learn more about these three bullet points, phone (202) 783-4087 and request a copy of ‘Issues & Perspectives’, dated January 2022, penned by Mark Weiss.

What additional ‘meat & potato’ issues, not listed here, come to your mind? Let me know via gfa7156@aol.com

End Note.

1. Would someone please define ‘post-production’ for me, relative to composition and scope as an industry sector? It appears to have become, in my opinion, a convenient ‘whipping boy without explanation’, to some folk in manufactured housing.



George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC


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