Economic Report of the President Highlights Manufactured Housing

The Council of Economic Advisors published the annual Economic Report of the President, and the chapter, “Increasing the Supply of Affordable Housing,” includes a section about manufactured housing. The section notes the significant cost saving in production (45% less to build per square foot than site-built) and the mandatory HUD Code compliance that makes manufactured homes “energy efficient, safe, and designed to withstand natural disasters, inclement weather, and fires.”

The report identifies challenges to expanding manufactured housing supply, including the difficulties created by land-use regulations, and suggests that efforts at the federal level to “encourage the adoption of improved State and local zoning policies could serve as a financial incentive to promote these kinds of reforms as well.”

The report addresses barriers to financing manufactured homes and explains the limitations Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have when making loans on manufactured homes, due to the homeowners not owning the land where the homes are placed. However, the report highlights Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac targeted the financing of manufactured housing in their 2022–24 Duty to Serve Plans.

MHI will continue advocating before the Administration to ensure they stay focused on addressing barriers to increasing the supply of manufactured housing and keep the important role manufactured housing has in increasing the country’s affordable housing supply at the forefront.