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Champion’s Genesis ‘Wows’ Professionals at Builder’s Show

By
Patrick Revere
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IBS 23 Genesis Champion Homes Las Vegas Convention Center
The Genesis Homes HUD code model 4264H32G03 and the ADU model 2039H21AD1
genesis homes champion IBS 23 las vegas convention center
There was a steady stream of visitors through the Genesis homes from Champion shown at IBS 23 in Vegas.

Champion Homes returned to Las Vegas in 2023 to show a sample of its Genesis Homes collection, setting up a 1,873-square-foot factory-built home, and an accessory dwelling unit, in the outdoor village at the International Builder’s Show.

Organizers for IBS estimated an audience of more than 45,000 attendees had the opportunity to walk through the new homes, with about 200,000 people attending the collection of residential kitchen, bath, and hardware help during the week.

The show was hosted by the National Association of Home Builders, and took place Jan. 31 — Feb. 2, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The Champion Homes team is earning new customers by directly addressing the market need for affordable, timely, and sustainably built homes.

“We are receiving a tremendous response from our builder developer customers. Our Genesis Homes lineup provides a turnkey solution at a price point, and timeline for today’s market,” said Mark Yost, president and CEO of Skyline Champion Corporation. “Our expansion in the builder/developer market reflects our commitment to make homeownership more attainable, and we are excited to be collaborating with partners who share our vision to welcome even more customers into their new home.”

Steve Payne from Skyline Champion Corporation talks with customers at the International Builder’s Show about Genesis Homes and strategies for developing residential neighborhoods with factory-built homes.

Features of the New Genesis Homes

Genesis Homes and ADUs feature contemporary exteriors and interiors, and thoughtful floor plans and designs.

The Genesis single-family home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The interior layout is spacious, providing open entertaining areas and ample privacy and quiet space. The home has a welcoming curb appeal, including covered porches for outdoor living.

The Genesis Homes ADU has two bedrooms and one bathroom in 788 square feet. Accessory dwelling units are a fast-growing affordable solution for homeowners looking to add additional space on their property. Whether as a guest house, workspace, casita, or rental, Genesis ADUs have a range of floor plans to create just the right stand-alone flex space to complement a single-family home.

Show attendees can walk through the fully furnished home and ADU at the Professional Builder Show Village.

See the homes and floor plans online at https://www.genesishomes.com/ibs-2023.

About Skyline Champion Corporation

Skyline Champion Corporation has 42 manufacturing facilities in the U.S., and employs 8,700 team members, including builders in 42 facilities across the country. Skyline Champion also operates a factory-direct retail business with 31 retail locations and Star Fleet Trucking.

The company builds homes under some of the most well-known brand names in the factory-built housing industry including Skyline Homes, Champion Home Builders, Athens Park Models, Dutch Housing, Excel Homes, Homes of Merit, New Era, Redman Homes, ScotBilt Homes, Shore Park, Silvercrest, Titan Homes in the U.S. and Moduline and SRI Homes in western Canada.

More from the 2023 International Builder’s Show

Las Vegas IBS 23 Impresa modular The Carolina Cottage
The exterior of The Carolina Cottage from Impresa.
The Carolina Cottage interior, a modular offering from Impresa.

There was plenty to see in Las Vegas at IBS ’23. Four representatives from MHInsider made the event to find interesting industry news, to talk with customers, and to see how other organizations in residential housing are representing themselves. Along the way we gathered some information and took photos to share in a quick roundup.

Impresa Impressive in the Village

Modular builder Impresa, along with several partners, showed a new floorplan —The Carolina Cottage — in the outdoor village. The 1,409-square-foot home garnered plenty of attention, particularly for its high, wood-paneled ceiling. The home has two bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, a 415-square-foot loft, and two covered porches. It came in on four trucks, each one carrying a module. The home was designed by architect Bill Gilbert and it was constructed in a factory in Greenwood, N.C. Impresa also brought along its new magazine, Offsite Builder, which details the efficiency, durability, and affordability of factory-built housing.

Not All Homes Were in the Village

Leon Integra set up this innovative tiny home in the central hall at the 2023 International Builder’s Show in Las Vegas.

Leon Integra, a Turkish logistics and distribution company with offices in Massachusetts, exhibited a tiny home at the show as a means of showing off the porcelain, rainscreen and siding, engineered wood, kitchen and bath offerings, and aluminum window and door solutions. The silo-shaped home captured the attention of passers-by throughout the show and spurred a lot of conversation about the use of space, efficiency in homebuilding, and environmental stewardship.

Beko Wins Big Prize at Kitchen and Bath Show

Zach Elkin, president of Beko Home Appliances USA, provides a tour of the company’s latest products, including a washer with an interior tub made entirely of recycled water bottles.

A primary component for the builder’s show in Vegas is the KBIS offering of the latest in kitchen and bath trends. MHInsider went on a media tour to get a sneak peek, with many of the offerings in the segment having a meaningful market in the manufactured housing industry. Beko, which is among the largest residential appliance designers and manufacturers in the world, continues to make gains in the U.S. market and this year was awarded the 2023 “Biggest Bite” among the Design Bites award winners.

This award recognizes the brand that offered the best combination of innovative products and presentation of product capabilities and benefits at the KBIS NEXT Stage. The “Brand with the Biggest Bite” was selected by a Shark Tank-like panel of judges that included Leigh Harrington, part of the USA TODAY Network, Sarah Robertson, of Studio Dearborn, and Breegan Jane, a TV host, interior designer, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

LG Signature Kitchen provided attendees on the morning media tour at IBS with a quick cooking demo and light breakfast of the perfect poached egg and farm fresh vegetables with a bacon chutney. At left, smart home expert Carley Knoblach joins Chef Nick Ritchie in the demonstration.

LG’s Signature Kitchen Suite provides at-home chefs the tools to prepare food in the best possible ways by bringing professional-grade equipment to the home kitchens. The company pioneered sous vide technology in the residential kitchens, as the first and only to integrate sous vide capabilities right on the cooking surface, alongside gas burners and induction for the perfect finish. At KBIS 2023, the company unveiled an expanded portfolio of luxury appliance innovations that drive performance, design, and precision including a 48-inch French-door refrigerator, 36-inch gas cooktop and PowerSteam dishwasher.

Live demonstrations and tastings will be led by Executive Chef Nick Ritchie based at Signature Kitchen Suite’s Experience and Design Center in culinary-centric Napa Valley, Calif. Attendees learned how to achieve gourmet cooking results using exclusive products including the versatile 48-inch Dual Fuel Pro Range, the first and only pro range with built-in sous vide, induction and gas, all on the cooking surface, along with an 18-inch steam oven and 30-inch convection oven below.

“Kitchen appliances are an investment that will be a part of your home and family for decades,” said Carley Knobloch, a tech lifestyle expert. “To make them future-proof, and able to grow with consumers’ needs and technology advances over time, will be a huge value-add for consumers. As someone with Signature Kitchen Suite appliances in my own kitchen, I look forward to the advancements and upgrades in the years to come.”

MHInsider is the leader in manufactured housing news, and is a product of MHVillage, the largest marketplace for manufactured homes.

Registration Open for 2023 Biloxi Manufactured Housing Show

By
Sean Vichinsky
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manufactured housing events biloxi trade show home show expo

Registration is open for the 2023 Biloxi Manufactured Housing Show & Expo, offering three days of education, networking, and model homes to tour for manufactured housing professionals. 

Taking place at the IP Casino Resort Spa in Biloxi, Miss. from March 20 – 22, 2023, this year’s event will feature roughly three dozen model homes on display, offering professionals the chance to view the industry’s new developments and innovations in one central place.

The South Central Manufactured Housing Institute (SCMHI) comprising the Alabama Manufactured Housing Association and the Mississippi Manufactured Housing Association oversee this unique industry event. 

“There is so much excitement in returning to Biloxi this year,” Mississippi Manufactured Housing Association Executive Director Jennifer Hall said. “We are expecting with the 37 home displays for our numbers to increase tremendously. The Exhibit Hall will be the same layout as last year and we only have a few booths left to fill. This could be a record year for the Biloxi Manufactured Home Show!”

Attendees will have the chance to take part in educational workshops, tour an expo floor featuring manufactured housing suppliers and service providers from all segments of the industry, and participate in networking events geared towards fostering new and existing industry connections. 

For this year’s event, seminars and education will be divided into two tracks aimed at retailers and community owner/operators, respectively. Specific workshops and seminars are to be announced at a later date. 

Register Today for the 2023 Biloxi Show & Expo

Registration to attend and exhibit at the Biloxi Manufactured Housing Expo is underway. For more information on the expo or to register online, visit biloxihomeshow.com/register. 

Housing for the event is available at the IP Casino Resort Spa in Biloxi with a special rate for attendees who use the code “SCHC23C” when booking a reservation online or over the phone.

Additionally, exhibitor slots and sponsorships are available for the event. Those who are interested in exhibitor slots are encouraged to contact the 2023 Biloxi Show & Expo at info@biloxihomeshow.com as soon as possible, as spaces are increasingly limited. Potential sponsors can also email info@biloxihomeshow.com for more information, or contact event staff through the 2023 Biloxi Show & Expo contact page. 

Learn more about the 2023 Biloxi Manufactured Housing Show & Expo by visiting biloxihomeshow.com. This event is an industry trade show and is not open to the public.

MHInsider is the leader in manufactured housing news, and is a product of MHVillage, the largest marketplace for manufactured homes.

The Opportunity in Uncertainty

By
Kevan Enger
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Kevan Enger Captstone broker manufactured housing industry preview 2023

A 2023 Manufactured Housing Industry Preview

Mobile Home Community
Kevan Enger, from Capstone, is a seller-focused broker of manufactured home communities.

2022 has been the year of inflation and interest rates. It seems that almost every conversation in the industry has come back to one of those two topics with more questions than answers…

“Will inflation finally stall?”

“Will the Fed raise rates again?”

“Will the interest rate hikes cause a recession?”

“Will the next interest rate increase be at a higher or lower pace?”

“When will the debt markets start to loosen up again?”

All of those questions have created a great deal of uncertainty in the marketplace. By nature, investors need to know the numbers, have a general idea of where things are going, and have an understanding of what is taking shape, and right now, everything seems unpredictable. 

Although the pandemic appears to be in the rearview, it was the catalyst for the change and unpredictability we are experiencing. From a market crash that never came, to a recession that never fully materialized, we’ve had an economy that did the unexpected…it boomed. Prosperity came despite the pandemic, closures, and supply chain shortages all thanks to a rapidly adapting consumer and new demand as the population moved, people began working from home, and a new era emerged.

This new era is unchartered territory. Couple that with inflation, rapidly rising interest rates, a war, and fear of a recession, and you have the perfect recipe for a great deal of uncertainty.

So how is this continued uncertainty impacting the mobile home park market? In this article, we will look at where the market is today and what to expect in the coming year.

The Debt Market

Interest rate hikes have put the debt market at ground zero. After six interest rate hikes so far this year and at least one more likely by the time of publishing this article, it’s no wonder that the debt markets have come to a grinding halt. Changing at a pace not seen since 2008, albeit in the opposite direction, lenders are simply not able to effectively underwrite loans with rates rising at the current pace. As a result, leveraged buys that were ruling cash-on-cash returns across asset classes less than a year ago, are now on hold.

But, for how long?

The Cash Market

Meanwhile, the debt market’s loss is the cash buyer’s gain. Buyers with pockets full of cash have seen an opening and they’re cautiously stepping through it as supply has started to loosen in step with the tightening debt market. More supply means more opportunities for better deals as cash buyers brandish their advantage and liquidity.

However, everyone is keeping their eye on cap rates which have certainly been impacted. For 5-star properties, for example, the market is looking at manufactured home communities that were delivering a cap rate of three or three and a half, now coming in at a five or five and a half.

Three-star properties that were once at a five to a five-and-a-half cap, may now be somewhere between seven and seven and a half.

This rapid shift has taken many owners by surprise, and it’s important to understand that while we can’t control interest rates there are factors we can work with to optimize property value. 

To illustrate, at our shop we’re working with owners on a variety of factors that have an impact on the value of a property. Our analysis looks at everything from operating expenses and maximizing the competition, to developing a custom marketing strategy that optimizes value and price.

This approach is critical since this past year has been particularly challenging on park owners due to rising costs. Inflation has driven up operating costs including for labor, utilities, materials, and insurance. In Florida, for instance, MHPs throughout the state have the added burden of rising insurance costs, especially after hurricanes Ian and Nicole hit the state. 

However, a cookie-cutter approach to curtailing expenses simply won’t be enough. The question isn’t how can we cut expenses? It’s how can we add value while cutting expenses.

manufactured home community manufactured housing industry 2023 preview

The Outlook

While the debt market has temporarily stalled and cap rates have inched up, there is an abundance of dry powder waiting on the sidelines for clearer signals on where the economy, inflation, and rates are headed. 

It’s essential for community owners to know that while the market is not moving at the velocity it was six to eight months ago, it’s still very active. Savvy investors are looking beyond the noise at the fundamentals, and the fundamentals of the market remain strong. 

Historically, the mobile home park space has been widely known as a recession-proof asset class. As the most affordable housing option, demand for our homes actually increases during a recession.

In addition, mobile home park residents are known as “sticky residents”, meaning they stay for the long term, rarely moving out of their chosen community. One of the main reasons for this is that it’s expensive to move a mobile home — anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000, on average. Mobile home park residents typically own their mobile home and just pay rent for the land on which their home sits. If they were to move, they would have to transport their home to a new community — an expense most mobile home owners would be unable or unwilling to pay.

Other fundamentals to consider are rental and occupancy rates. Rental rates across the MHP space continue to rise. Most MHPs remain at below-market rents, providing a great deal of room for potential upside in rents.

At the macro level, occupancy rates are at all-time highs. However, at the micro level, there is tremendous opportunity for optimizing occupancy at parks across the country in all markets. 

In addition, the recent attention by the administration, FHA, and Freddie Mac on affordable housing, and especially manufactured housing, has opened new avenues for consumers and investors. For example, the Federal Housing Administration proposed a rule to annually adjust the loan limits for its Title I Manufactured Home Loan Program, a program that insures loans used to finance manufactured homes titled as personal property. Other proposed or enacted actions include helping states and localities eliminate needless barriers to affordable housing production, including permitting for manufactured housing communities, and creating separate indexes and updating loan limits for Title I Manufactured Home Loan Program.

There is no doubt that untapped value and opportunity remain in the mobile home park market, and the fundamentals prove it.

For sellers, there is value in what they’ve built. Tapping into that value will open new opportunities. 

For investors, there is untapped opportunity in the inherent value of the property.  

While this unchartered territory brings uncertainty, one thing is definite, there is plenty of opportunity in uncertainty for mobile home park owners and investors.

MHInsider is the leader in manufactured housing news, and is a product of MHVillage, the largest marketplace for manufactured homes.

‘Seen and Heard’ in Louisville

By
Patrick Revere
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the louisville show 23 adventure homes manufactured homes sahara model
The Sahara model from Adventure Homes.

Live from The Louisville Manufactured Housing Show

More than 3,000 manufactured housing professionals attended The Louisville Manufactured Housing Show Jan. 18-20 at the Kentucky Exposition Center.

After a three-year absence due to the pandemic, the KEC again was the center point of the industry, providing 27 new model homes to walk through, and more than 100 service and supply exhibitors to talk with about their offerings. It was a time for networking, learning, making deals, and moving forward into what may be a challenging yet fruitful year in business.

Victoria Cowart, director of education and outreach for Pet Screening, and company Vice President Mike Shytle attended The Louisville Show for the first time, scouting the industry as a potential new market for the pet screening software.

“The Louisville Manufactured Housing Show was impressive to see, easy to navigate, and lovely to be part of,” Cowart said. “The attendees were receptive to us and interested in our company — despite us being brand new. That was refreshing, and it leads us to think this is a vertical in the rental housing industry with great people and potential.”

Skyline Champion CEO Provides Keynote Address

Skyline Champion Corporation CEO Mark Yost provides the keynote address at the 2023 Louisville Manufactured Housing Show, held Jan. 18-20 at the Kentucky Expo Center.

Mark Yost, the CEO of Skyline Champion Corporation, spoke to a packed room the second day of the show, reminding manufactured housing professionals of the depth of housing need the country is in, and how the factory-built approach to homebuilding is the solution.

“There is not a single county in this country where a person making minimum wage can afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment,” Yost told attendees. “This should offend you.”

Rental apartment occupancy in the U.S. is 96 percent, he said. Nearly 75 percent of Americans cannot afford to buy a home. Forty-five million people won’s sell today even if they want because they would be unable to get the favorable financing they currently enjoy. Another 45 million won’t sell because they already have paid off the home and would be hard-pressed to find another home at a similar price.

This, along with the lack of site-built construction in middle-market housing, and the continued stubborn nature of local governments to accept manufactured homes, makes for a housing market malaise that begs for a proven solution.

Yost said a survey recently showed that 40 percent of Americans consider buying a home the most stressful experience of their lives. And what did those respondents say when asked how they felt during this stressful process?

“They broke down in tears,” Yost said.

Yost confided to the audience that it sometimes can be difficult to remain positive in the face of so many challenges in bringing forward what our customers want and need. But he read a letter from a longtime customer who described their Champion home as a “little slice of heaven.”

“We need a different solution,” Yost said.

Part of the solution, Yost said, had to be automation in homebuilding facilities. Another part is providing seamless services surrounding the home sale, offerings such as app-based financing and insurance, drive-through closings, and a turnkey experience that delights the new homeowner as soon as they walk in.

“There is a word for all of this for the people in this room, and that word is ‘opportunity’,” Yost said. “We have to solve this today so that tomorrow we can offer people that ‘little slice of heaven’.”

Manufactured home lenders discuss the finance options available in the current market. The Louisville Show is hosted by the Midwest Manufactured Housing Federation, made up of members from Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky.

It was noted during the Lenders Panel that there were 18 consumer finance lenders registered and exhibiting at The Louisville Show, offering varied and sometimes competing programs for home finance. “A lot of us are using technology and new platforms to reach our customers in their living rooms,” Credit Human’s Barry Noffsinger said. “It’s more and more important all the time that we’re using these tools.”

Several of the lenders represented expressed continued interest in building a secondary market for chattel home loans, an effort already in the works at Cascade Finance, Triad Financial Services, and Park Lane Financial Solutions.

Manufactured housing professionals relished being able to walk through a large collection of new model homes after a three-year absence. There were 27 new manufactured homes on display at The Louisville Show in 2023.
the louisville show 23 manufactured housing industry fairmont homes tesla model sitting area
the louisville show 23 manufactured housing industry fairmont homes tesla model main bath shower large

Plenty to Look at in Louisville

Among the homes shown at The Louisville Show was the Telsa, from Fairmont Homes. The three-bedroom, two-bath home has an open floor plan with 1,012 square feet. It has a spacious living room, and a large central walk-in shower in the main bath. Fairmont is part of Cavco Industries and builds its homes in northern Indiana.

Clayton Homes built a small village at The Louisville Show and included the Pulse Collection.

New Homes That Bring The ‘Wow’ Effect

Several home-building facilities under the Clayton brand brought homes to show at Louisville, many of which were already sold, or sold at the show. Builders continue to report significant order backlogs, but have begun to make accommodations to get new homes to manufactured housing trade shows in 2023. Showing new homes to all buyers, as well as legislators and policymakers, is essential for industry growth. “When we get people through the homes we get that ‘wow’ effect,” Manufactured Housing Institute President Mark Bowersox said during his State of the Industry address the final day of the show. “It’s a lot more effective than handing them a piece of paper.”

A nice sitting area in the Tempo model from Clayton Homes.

MHInsider is the leader in manufactured housing news, and is a product of MHVillage, the largest marketplace for manufactured homes.

Datacomp Releases Updated Manufactured Housing Community Data from Six States

By
Patrick Revere
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TucsonEstates_mh_market_reports_mobile_home_rent_web
Tucson Estates, near Tucson, Ariz.

New Information from Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Utah

Datacomp, the publisher of JLT Market Reports and the nation’s #1 provider of market data for the manufactured housing industry, announces the publication of its January 2023 mobile home park comps with occupancy and other vital data on manufactured home communities from 14 markets in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Utah.

Recognized as the industry standard for manufactured home community market analysis for more than 20 years, JLT Market Reports provide detailed research and information on manufactured home communities located in 187 primary housing markets throughout the United States. This includes the latest occupancy trends and statistics, marketing programs, and a variety of other useful management insights.

Datacomp’s manufactured housing market data is updated continually throughout the year, with the latest updates from specific markets and regions published on a monthly schedule.

Depth of Reporting on Manufactured Housing Communities by Region

  • Reports on manufactured home communities in the South consider 986 communities with 248,412 homesites, with a total occupancy rate of 96 percent.
  • Reports on manufactured home communities in the Southwest consider 482 communities with 107,077 homesites, with a total occupancy rate of 95 percent.
  • Reports on manufactured home communities in the West consider 226 communities with 54,299 homesites, with a total occupancy rate of 97 percent.
What’s in JLT Market Reports?

Each JLT manufactured home community rent and occupancy report from Datacomp has detailed information about investment-grade communities in the major markets. The detailed information includes:

  • Number of homesites
  • Occupancy rates
  • Average community rents, and increases
  • Community amenities
  • Vacant lots
  • Repossessed and inventory homes, and much more

Established reports show trends in each market with a comparison of January 2023 rents and occupancy rates to January 2022. In addition, JLT Markt Reports include a historical recap of rents and occupancy from 1996 to the present date in most markets.

The January 2023 JLT Market Reports for 14 markets in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Utah are available for purchase and immediate download online at the Datacomp JLT Market Report, or they may be ordered by phone in electronic or printed editions at (800) 588-5426.

Each fully updated report for mobile home communities is a comprehensive look at investment-grade properties within a market, enabling owners and managers, lenders, appraisers, brokers, and other organizations to effectively benchmark those communities and make informed decisions.

New JLT Market Reports for Ariz., Ga., Nev., NM, NC, Utah MH Communities Available Now

By
Patrick Revere
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west regiona manufactured home communities az friendly village
Friendly Village, Tucson, Ariz.

Datacomp, publisher of JLT Market Reports and the nation’s #1 provider of market data for the manufactured housing industry, announces the publication of its January  2021 mobile home rent comps, occupancy, and other vital data on manufactured home communities from 14 markets in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Utah.

Recognized as the industry standard for manufactured home community market analysis for more than 20 years, JLT Market Reports provide detailed research and information on manufactured home communities located in more 187 primary housing markets throughout the United States. This includes the latest rent trends and statistics, marketing programs, and a variety of other useful management insights.

Datacomp’s manufactured housing market data published in the January 2022 JLT Market Reports includes information on investment-grade  “all ages” and “55+” manufactured home communities. Altogether, the reports include data representations for 92,692 homesites.

Regional Trends in Manufactured Housing Community Rent, Occupancy

  • South region manufactured home communities show a year-over-year 4.3 percent increase in rent and a 0.5 percent increase in occupancy
  • West region manufactured home communities show a year-over-year 5.5 percent increase in rent and a 0.7 percent increase in occupancy
  • Southwest region manufactured home communities show a year-over-year 5.3 percent increase in rent and a 0.7 percent increase in occupancy
What’s in JLT Market Reports?

Each JLT manufactured home community rent and occupancy report from Datacomp has detailed information about investment grade communities in the major markets. The detailed information includes:

  • Number of homesites
  • Occupancy rates
  • Average community rents, and increases
  • Community amenities
  • Vacant lots
  • Repossessed and inventory homes, and much more

Established reports show trends in each market with a comparison of January 2022 rents and occupancy rates to January 2021. In addition, JLT Markt Reports include a historical recap of rents and occupancy from 1996 to the present date in most markets.

The January 2022 JLT Market Reports for 14 markets in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Utah are available for purchase and immediate download online at the Datacomp JLT Market Report, or they may be ordered by phone in electronic or printed editions at (800) 588-5426.

Each fully updated report for mobile home communities is a comprehensive look at investment-grade properties within a market, enabling owners and managers, lenders, appraisers, brokers, and other organizations to effectively benchmark those communities and make informed decisions.

MH Professionals Set Sights on Louisville’s Kentucky Expo Center

By
Patrick Revere
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KEC 2023 Louisville Manufactured Housing Show
Kentucky Expo Center is the venue for the 2023 Louisville Manufactured Housing Show Jan. 18-20. Industry professionals only.

A Welcome Return for the Manufactured Housing Industry in Kentucky

The Louisville Manufactured Housing Show makes its grand return next week, with thousands of industry professionals making their way to Kentucky for networking, education, and to lay eyes on all the latest product and services being offered.

Last held in 2020 just weeks prior to the Pandemic shutdown, The Louisville Show is the jump start to the year, preparation for the spring selling season, and the event that provides the most factory-built homes to tour in a single space.

“The Louisville Show is legendary in the industry. It’s the place a lot of deals get done, it sets the tone for the year, it welcomes so many new players in the industry, and shows all the greatest innovations,” Show Chairman Eric Oaks said. “It’s a gathering everyone in the industry looks forward to each year, and having taken time off through the last couple of years, I feel this event is going to be something really special.”

In 2023, the show dates Jan. 18-20, and the event venue is once again the Kentucky Exposition Center, the second largest convention center in the Midwest (to McCormick Place in Chicago), and the sixth largest such venue in the United States. The 1.1 million square foot facility was opened in 1956 and continues to be among the top economic drivers for the city of Louisville.

The show runs from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. local time the first two days of the show, and on Friday runs from 8 a.m. to noon, is open to industry professionals only, and is free of charge for non-exhibiting attendees. All attendees will be provided ample opportunity for networking with other attendees, exhibitors, sponsors, and organizers.

What We Will See at the KEC

Interior details of Cavco’s Sandalwood XL, among the collection of homes to be on display for manufactured housing professionals attending The Louisville Show, Jan. 18-20 at KEC.

Organizers for the 2023 event have put together a compelling lineup of speakers, presenters, and panelists on a wide range of topics, from sales and lending, to marketing, community management, and more. Champion Homes CEO Mark Yost will be the keynote speaker, and rightfully so. Industry professionals who have seen Yost present readily note how easily he speaks off the cuff, is able to relay mounds of technical and financial information, and above all, keeps any talk lively and interesting.

More than 100 service and supply professionals will be set up and ready for questions and answers. And representatives from multiple manufacturers will be situated in and around more than two dozen homes on display, where industry professionals can tour, gather literature on the offerings, and ask questions about the new homes.

Among the builders that will have homes in Louisville is Cavco Industries, the nation’s third-largest builder of manufactured homes. It will have seven models to show, including new homes from the Fairmont and Fleetwood brands. The largest of the models is the 1,920 square-foot, four-bedroom, two-bath Sandalwood XL by Fleetwood, and the most efficient floor plan in the group is The Phoenix from Cavco with three bedrooms and two baths in a 990-square foot floorplan.

Other industry builders with homes at the show are Skyline Champion, Clayton, Adventure, Ritz-Craft, and Prime Factory Built.

The Louisville Show has been running for more than 60 years and continues to be one of the prime industry gatherings for manufactured housing professionals. It is organized by the Midwest Manufactured Housing Federation, which represents associations in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan.

MHInsider is the leader in manufactured housing news, and is a product of MHVillage, the largest marketplace for manufactured homes.

UMH Buys First Property with Opportunity Zone Fund

By
Patrick Revere
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umh opportunity zone investment manufactured housing

UMH Properties purchased its first manufactured home community from the newly created Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund.

The Freehold, N.J.-based real estate investment trust purchased a 186-homesite manufactured home community in Orangeburg, S.C. for $5.2 million. The community sits on 39 acres and is 42 percent occupied.

“This community is well-located and will benefit from our proven business plan,” UMH Properties President and CEO Sam Landy said. “The community has been acquired through the QOZF, in which UMH invested a portion of the capital gains realized earlier this year from the sale of Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp. UMH will also earn fees for sourcing acquisitions and managing the QOZF.”

The purchase is UMH’s second in South Carolina.

In addition to seeking other opportunities to acquire existing communities requiring substantial capital investment that are located in qualified opportunity zones, Landy said the fund also will look to acquire development opportunities in qualified opportunity zones.

Economically distressed areas often have a great need for workforce housing, and the addition of such housing incentivizes corporations to invest in an area. This provides revenue for the area, attracting retail. Therefore, the value of the real estate within the opportunity zone increases.

What is a Qualified Opportunity Zone?

A qualified opportunity zone is an economically distressed community whereby new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment.

The fund was designed to allow for the deferral of taxes through 2026 on recently realized capital gains reinvested in the fund and to potentially obtain certain other tax benefits. Participating in the program allows UMH to stabilize short-term earnings, improve its position on capital gains, gain access to more deals, and continue to grow its relationship with federal and state governments.

“By providing quality affordable housing in opportunity zones, we will help make these areas even more attractive to employers who need housing for their employees,” Landy said.

UMH Properties is a public equity REIT organized in 1968. It owns and operates 132 manufactured home communities with approximately 25,000 developed homesites in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Alabama, and South Carolina. UMH also has an ownership interest in and operates one community in Florida, with 219 sites, through its joint venture with Nuveen Real Estate.

MHInsider is the leader in manufactured housing news, and is a product of MHVillage, the largest marketplace for manufactured homes.

Cavco Opens New Manufacturing Facility in North Carolina

By
Patrick Revere
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Cavco North Carolina manufacturing building manufactured homes.
A Cavco team member works with a home down the factory line.

184,000-square-foot facility in Hamlet Expands Company’s Home Production Capabilities

Cavco Industries has opened its newest manufacturing facility, a home building plan in Hamlet, N.C., that will be known as Cavco Homes of North Carolina. The 184,000-square-foot plant will produce manufactured homes. The opening comes approximately seven months after Cavco acquired the facility from Volumetric Building Companies, which used the facility to produce multi-family residential and commercial projects, and has since moved that production closer to their markets in the Northeast.

Cavco is the third-largest U.S. builder of manufactured homes, with a 14 percent share of that market.

Cavco offered continued employment to previous VBC employees, including management staff, and additional employment opportunities are anticipated to become available with the expansion of its homebuilding production.

“At Cavco we are intensely driven to provide solutions to the pressing need for affordable homes,” said Bill Boor, president and chief executive officer of Cavco. “The addition of the Hamlet facility to our growing network of 27 plants across the country is a step forward on that path.”

Cavco has distribution points in 48 U.S. states and in Canada, through its 45 retail stores and 27 production plants. The company employs more than 6,300 people. In fiscal year 2022, the company delivered 16,700 homes, provided over $141 million in financing to homebuyers, and insured homes for more than 63,600 homeowners. It also provided claims assistance to about 5,600 homeowners.

“This has been a great opportunity to quickly bring new capacity online with an in-place and capable workforce. From the beginning, it was a primary objective for both VBC and Cavco that we maintain continuous employment for the people at the facility,” Boor said. “Through careful planning and coordination, we have been able to do so. We’re very excited about the important role Hamlet will play in Cavco’s future for many years to come.”

Palm Harbor Facility Builds 15,000th Home

Cavco’s Millersburg, Ore., production facility this year celebrated the completion of 15,000 homes since the plant opened in 1995. The plant makes the company’s Palm Harbor homes, including the Seavannah floorplan it was building at the time of the milestone. The home came off the line and was prepped and shipped to Homes Direct, a nearby dealer.

“We are extremely proud to reach this milestone as it speaks to the longevity and quality of our end-to-end manufacturing operations,” Forrest Barnes, the general manager at Millersburg, said. “We wouldn’t be here without our dedicated team of professionals – from the people who masterfully design these homes to those who skillfully build them to those who subsequently sell them to our customers. Every team member plays a vital role, and we celebrate them all.”

The first home produced by the plant was started on March 31, 1995, and the mission began to deliver quality, affordable housing to the Pacific Northwest, California, and Alaska.

New home designs like this 2,213 square-foot Seavannah offer much the market, with three bedrooms, two baths, a recessed covered porch, a great room, built-in linear fireplace, and nine-foot-tall ceilings.

The kitchen features an oversized island, wrap-around cabinetry, a raised serving bar and a storage pantry with a sliding barn door. A freestanding soaking tub, a walk-in tile shower with bench and double sinks provide a custom feel in the master bath. Laundry can be easily managed in the ultimate utility room that features a laundry tub, sink, and folding counter.

MHInsider is the leader in manufactured housing news, and is a product of MHVillage, the largest marketplace for manufactured homes.

Design Trends for the New Year: A Look at 2023

By
Suzanne Felber
-
desert tones interior design homes home design 2023
Desert colors are already being seen in design magazines, and major furniture stores. Photo by Lisa Stewart of Lisa Stewart Photography.

How is it possible that 2022 is almost in our rearview mirror? It feels like yesterday; we were thinking about what changes we might see in 2022. It’s exciting to see how many of the trends we thought might arrive this year have been embraced by consumers. Not only have these forward-thinking design trends become a reality, but they are also growing in relevance in the new year.

Significant shifts are coming to the look and feel of our homes, especially in the interiors in 2023. Softer, more complex palettes will replace stark white and gray rooms. One of the color seminars we attended even predicted that white kitchens would be a thing of the past by 2025. Be prepared to see warmer colors like bone, mocha, leafy greens, and dusty blues become the new neutrals and replace the whites and grays that have been so popular.

Desert tones will replace the cool colors we have seen for the last ten years. Instead, reds, oranges, terra cotta, cactus green, and sky blue will be the hot accent colors and looks for 2023.

The grays that have been so popular through the last decade are fading out, and white shiplap siding is shipping out, too. It is being replaced by smooth, natural, and lightly stained wood panels used in strategic locations that add a warm look to a room.

Design for a Healthier Home

Adding leafy greens to your environment makes it feel alive, even if the plants are not.

The pandemic brought a new focus on health and wellness, which will continue to stay strong throughout the next decade and beyond. Identifying products that are made of sustainable, renewable materials helps today’s buyers make educated decisions. With factory-built housing being one of the most energy-efficient building forms, our industry has an excellent opportunity to share the story of how we are helping the environment. There is also a renewed interest in locally sourced, made-in-America products.

The Green House effect is being seen everywhere. Biophilic Design, or using natural light, natural materials, and vegetation, is here to stay. Lighter natural woods that are pickled or just sealed are back. Bringing the outside in with color, accessories, and artwork will continue to grow in importance.

In 2022, The housing crisis entered an age of minimalism. As the lack of affordable housing continues, we will see smaller spaces and more multi-generational living environments. Furniture is scaled down with open legs and arms to give a more open feel to a smaller space. But, again, watch for every detail to make a statement, and less is more.

A Place to Sit

Authentic conversations are treasured again. Cozy, comfortable rooms where you want to sit and stay for a while continue to replace the cavernous great rooms that we have been embracing for years. Dining rooms are back at the top of the list of what homebuyers want. Post-COVID entertaining is more likely to happen at home than at a restaurant or gathering space. Stark, uncomfortable dining chairs are being replaced with upholstered, roomy ones that encourage you to sit down and stay for a while. Elegant bar carts and bar spaces are also back in vogue.

Kindness, Healing, and a Life Well Lived

Time-worn items add a feeling of history to a room. Bringing crafting tools out of the garage and into the decor is trending, the older and more used the better.

Craftivism is “a new social process of collective empowerment, action, expression, and negotiation.” Using crafts and craft projects to advance social causes will become essential to many. Shopping for products that support a specific cause, such as animal rescue, women’s causes, child welfare, and others, will become even more important and celebrated in the future. Flex spaces are becoming even more popular, and they don’t have to be huge spaces. A niche in a hallway or extra space off the utility room can give consumers a place to explore their inner passion.

Digital Design is popular in Europe and is heading this way. It is about seeing the world in a digital form and will be extremely popular in the teenage demographic and move to other ages in the future. Red looks purple on most computers, which has led to purple being seen more in products targeting this demographic — they are used to seeing the world on their computers. Small-scale workspaces, the ability to plug in, and new technology will bring us things we haven’t even thought about.

Hopefully, with the pandemic largely behind us, the interest in creating a home people want to spend time and entertain in will stay with us. In addition, there is a renewed interest in “living within your means,” and affordable housing is becoming a priority for younger homebuyers and our senior buyers too. The stigma that factory-built housing has carried with it for so long is finally fading away, and living in a factory-built home is now considered a wise decision. We will also see more downsizing where people decide to reduce their monthly expenses by moving into a more affordable home.

It feels good to be positive and looking forward to a year full of color, optimism, and living well.

Here’s to 2023!

MHInsider is the leader in manufactured housing news, and is a product of MHVillage, the largest marketplace for manufactured homes.

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