U.S. Existing Home Sales Price Continue To Rise, Widening The Affordability Gap Versus New Manufactured Homes
Sales of previously occupied U.S.homes rose again in January, a sign that the housing market’s strong momentum from 2020 may be carrying over into this year, according to an AP report.
The market for pre-owned site-built homes cooled slightly in November, said the National Association of Realtors after climbing through the late spring, summer, and early fall despite the pandemic. U.S. home sales rose 0.6% in January from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.69 million annualized units. Sales jumped 23.7% from a year earlier. It was the strongest sales pace since October and the second-highest since 2006.
Home prices also rose. The U.S median home price was $303,900 in January, an increase of 14.1% from a year earlier. Prices increased in every region of the country. The dearth of homes for sale has been the main driver of escalating home prices.
ADVANTAGES OF CUSTOM-BUILT NEW MANUFACTURED HOMES VERSUS PRE-OWNED AND/OR NEW SITE-BUILT HOMES
The average sales prices for existing pre-owned homes automatically eliminates many hard-working lower to middle-income families from the realization of homeownership, whereas a new manufactured home is “everything a home should be,” for about half the price.
The following are some of the many advantages of becoming a new manufactured homeowner vs. an existing pre-owned home or a new home built on site
- Manufactured housing is the only form of home regulated by a federal building code that includes health, safety, energy efficiency, and durability.
- Greater flexibility of the construction process allows a manufactured home to be custom built to the requirements, lifestyle, and wants of the individual home buyer, including enhanced energy efficiency such as Energy Star-labeled manufactured homes/modular homes for substantial savings in many aspects of owning and operating a home and an array of amenities, decor, fixtures, and appliances.
- A manufactured home is a sound investment, with a cost up to 50% less per square foot than a comparable traditional site-built home, equal and often superior in quality of construction, appearance, and amenities.
- The affordability of manufactured homes is due to the efficiency of the factory building process, utilizing the same building materials as site-built homes. The controlled environment and assembly-line techniques remove many of the problems encountered during traditional on-site home construction, such as weather, theft, vandalism, etc.
- Technological advances allow manufactured home/modular home builders to offer a variety of architectural styles and finishes that will allow a manufactured home to blend seamlessly into almost any neighborhood.
- Multiple manufactured home/modular home financing choices are available, whether a home is placed on private property or within a land-lease community. A manufactured home affixed to real estate will qualify for mortgage financing similar to a traditional site-built home, including FHA and Va. Because total consideration is lower, the required initial investment (down payment) requirement will be proportionately less.
