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How Many
Americans are Finding
Affordable Housing
(StatePoint) With the cost of housing continuing to rise faster
than wages, it’s no wonder that many Americans nationwide are struggling to make ends meet. Luckily, solutions already exist to address the affordable housing shortage, say experts.
For example, more than 22 million people in the U.S. now live in man- ufactured housing -- homes built to
a federal standard in factories and placed on a homeowner’s land or on rented lots in manufactured home communities, according to the Man- ufactured Housing Institute (MHI). In many parts of the country, homes like these are the least expensive kind of housing available without a gov- ernment subsidy. The cost to buy a manufactured home averages about $70,600, compared with $286,000 for a single-family site-built home, not including land costs.
In response to growing market demand, almost 93,000 new manu- factured homes were built in the U.S. in 2017, an approximate 15 percent increase over 2016, according to MHI, but this is still not nearly enough to meet the nation’s affordable housing needs, according to experts. Advocates say that zoning restrictions and other rules and regulations in many areas are preventing manufactured hous- ing from closing the gap -- as certain jurisdictions only allow manufactured housing in locations far from town centers and other jurisdictions have
considered banning them altogether. “Part of this bias may be based
on the negative stereotype of earlier generations of manufactured housing, however, today, our homes are built with quality construction materials
to meet rigorous federal standards for safety, installation and construction,” says Richard Jennison, president and CEO of MHI.
What’s more, today’s manufactured housing includes features that today’s homebuyers want, such as luxury bathrooms, vaulted ceilings and state-
of-the-art kitchens with energy-ef- ficient appliances. Often situated in communities with swimming pools, playgrounds and clubhouses, they can be a very attractive option for families and retirees seeking affordability. To learn more visit, manufacturedhous- ing.org.
“At a time when there is a great need for high-quality, affordable housing, today’s manufactured homes are an effective solution for many Ameri- can families and communities,” says Jennison.
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