The Biloxi Manufactured Housing Expo is set to host its opening panel on Tuesday, March 29 with a major gathering of nine of the manufactured housing industry’s top manufacturers, during a discussion panel titled “The Reality of Doing Business in the Post-Pandemic New Normal.”
This in-person panel discussion, the first of its kind in 2022, will discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the manufactured housing industry, including production backlogs, supply chain challenges, the state of the workforce, and other topics to help industry professionals navigate 2022.
The panel is set to feature the following manufacturers and company representatives:
Kyle Bennett, General Manager, Vice President of Operations, Kabco Builders
Rick Bostick, Director, Sales and Business Development, Deer Valley Homebuilders
Rick Boyd, President, Manufacturing Operations, Clayton Homes
Brent Cappaert, Vice President of Operations, Cappaert Manufactured Housing
Wade Lyall, Executive Vice President Business Development, Champion Home Builders
“Devoting our opening session to the industry’s manufacturers is a prime opportunity for manufactured housing professionals to hear directly from those companies,” Mississippi Manufactured Housing Association Executive Director Jennifer Hall said. “As industry demand booms, this session will be a highlight of the Biloxi Expo as they outline the state of doing business in 2022 and beyond.”
The manufacturer’s panel will take place on Tuesday, March 29, at 9:30 AM in Studio A of the IP Casino Resort Spa.
Exclusive Industry Programming to Take Place at Biloxi Expo
The Biloxi Manufactured Housing Expo, which takes place from March 28 – 30, 2022, will offer three days of programming, receptions, and events for manufactured housing professionals, including a golf tournament on Monday, March 28.
In addition to the opening manufacturer’s panel, attendees can attend sessions such as:
Connecting with the Next Generation of Community Residents – They’re Not Just for Seniors Any More
Sales Management 3.0: You Can’t Manage Sales Like It’s 1980
From Rent-Collector to Sales Superstar – The Enhanced Role of Community Managers
Virtual Selling: Competing for Buyers in a Digital World
Insights from the Front Line: State Association Executive Directors Panel
Smarter, Faster, Cheaper Park Management
Attracting New Talent to Your Workforce
New to Manufactured Housing or Want to Keep Up with Current Developments? What Everyone in the Industry Should Know and the Department of Energy’s Proposed Regulation Means for Your Bottom Line
And more!
Register Today for the 2022 Biloxi 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. Registration is free for retailers and community owners and managers. Housing for the event is available at the IP Casino Resort Spa in Biloxi.
The Biloxi Manufactured Housing Expo is an industry conference for manufactured housing professionals and is not open to the general public.
Ohio’s largest land trust Western Reserve Land Conservancy purchased the 28-acre Euclid Beach Mobile Home Park on the shores of Lake Erie at Cleveland’s east edge.
The historic community and the strip of land that surrounds will connect to public lands on each side.
Officials at the land conservancy learned the owner of the property since 1988 might sell and worked with City Councilman Mike Polensek to secure the land from going to private development.
“For me, this immediately became a rescue mission. There’s no chance the community would have supported high-rise apartments or commercial development, and neither would I,” Polensek said in a statement put out by the trust.
“I reached out to the Land Conservancy and other nonprofits because it was critical that the property be in the safe hands of an organization that values the region’s best interests and also respects the current park tenants,” he said. “I am confident that the Land Conservancy will proceed thoughtfully and with a full appreciation for how this historic property best fits into our neighborhood’s future.”
“Determining the best path for the future will be a long-term process. If there are any notable changes for the tenants, they won’t happen for at least one year.”
Western Reserve Land Conservancy Senior Vice President Matt Zone
Matt Zone, senior vice president at Western Reserve Land Conservancy, said the land conservancy has reached out to nearly a dozen public and nonprofit organizations to assist in planning and redeveloping the waterfront. The conservancy also has contracted with Blank Family Communities as an adviser for the park and its residents.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to intelligently create a long-term strategy that could be transformational for the North Shore Collinwood neighborhood and the Cleveland-Euclid border,” Zone said.
The Euclid Beach Mobile Home Park once had nearly 300 homes and now has about half that. Currently, it has approximately 150 rental units in the community. It also needs an immediate upgrade to its water utilities.
“We intend to make these repairs as quickly as possible, improve the quality of life for these residents and treat them with compassion and respect,” Zone said.
Euclid Beach Mobile Home Park is adjacent Euclid Beach, a former amusement park site that is now run by Cleveland Metroparks. Photos courtesy of Western Reserve Land Conservancy.
Euclid Beach Mobile Home Park Initially Used for Workforce Housing
Euclid Beach Mobile Home Park has a unique history. The property once housed temporary employees of Euclid Beach Amusement Park, which closed in 1969. In the 1980s it was converted to a year-round land-lease community.
In a brief history of the park, Collinwood Nottingham Historical Society said that for many just hearing the name Euclid Beach brings back fond memories, dating back as far as 1895.
The amusement park housing was established in the 1930s and by 1948 it was home to 100 families. Renters also used the 160 tent dwellings and some log cabins, as well as the “Tourist Kitchen” building on site.
Another popular feature of the community was the Auto Train, a “people mover” built by the Fadgl Bus Company in 1916 that operated on concrete paths in the amusement park as well as between the mobile home park and beach. It ran for years, and was discontinued when the amusement park closed, now the site of the beachfront Cleveland Metropark.
Rate Hikes to Continue Through ’22 to Ease Inflation
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25, a measure it has indicated will re-occur four or more times through the year as a matter of keeping inflation at bay. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told reporters following the meeting that board will meet seven times through the year, and a quarter-point could be added again at each of those meetings as needed.
“The committee acutely feels the responsibility to restore price stability, and is willing to use all of its tools to do so,” Powell said.
First Trust Advisors Chief Economist Brian Wesbury stated in a recent newsletter to subscribers that the “futures market in federal funds appears split roughly 50/50” on whether the Fed will raise rates by 25 or 50 (0.25 or 0.5) basis points in May.
“Instead, we think the Fed should raise short-term rates to 2.0% and do it immediately,” Wesbury said. “No, we are not being cavalier about these suggestions, nor are we making them to get attention. Instead, it’s the Fed that’s been cavalier about inflation risk and now has the financial markets and economy in a position where we have to obsess over its every move.”
Brandon Wilkerson of Kwikbit works with Treasure Island resident Moises Sicat on the installation of high-speed internet.
Kwikbit Models How to Deliver High-Speed Internet
By Joe Costello
If you brought up the concept of a manufactured housing community 10 years ago, eventually someone would throw out the term mobile home park or maybe even trailer park, conjuring images of low-income or transient communities.
Those days are gone. Manufactured homes are the new residence of the middle class, particularly in fast-growing and overheated housing markets throughout the U.S. They now are talked about as the new entry-level housing option for first-time homeowners, millennials, and an emerging generation of people in America who are upwardly mobile and focused on having all the amenities of a home, but in a close, safe, community.
A fundamental amenity for this new changing demographic is fast, affordable, and accessible internet. Kwikbit’s Lawrence Alioto captures the challenge simply.
“Modern manufactured housing isn’t complete without affordable broadband,” the head of strategy said.
Manufactured Housing in the Spotlight – Antiquated Technology drives the ‘Digital Divide’
Brandon Wilkerson of Kwikbit installs hardware at Treasure Island.
Manufactured housing — currently the largest source of unsubsidized affordable housing in the country — is growing at a staggering rate. This is particularly important as Americans seek solutions for the current housing crisis, not to mention increased natural disasters, and economic turmoil. As community residents diversify and grow, internet access isn’t any longer an amenity, it is a required service for this new demographic.
Unfortunately, manufactured housing communities are more often than not on the wrong side of the digital divide. This is through no fault of their own, but rather decades of inattention to upgrades from internet service providers who see these parks as too small or too isolated a market to bother properly investing in them. These providers are sometimes willing to offer high-cost service, but with long-term contracts, and speeds that are more reflective of the early 2000s than what is needed in 2022.
Look no further than the antiquated cable (or worse, DSL) systems in place in a majority of communities around the nation.
Manufactured home communities have been left behind.
Cable systems were designed for television and best suited for “downstream” traffic such as downloading files or streaming. Conversely, “upstream” refers to activity from the user to the provider, such as sending an email, doing a Zoom meeting or having a Facetime session. Typical cable service plans deliver only 5-10 megabits per second upstream.
Cable and DSL networks are reaching the end of their useful life in an era of remote work and online schooling. The promised solution is fiber, but the big problem with fiber is that it requires installing an entirely new set of cables either via utility poles or underground cables. These processes are lengthy, expensive, and even a risk in disaster-prone areas. While a major metropolis might have the funds to sink into such a project and fiber providers might invest to install fiber in a large, affluent community. That rarely has been the case for smaller, or aging manufactured.
The Internet as a Utility
Simply put, manufactured housing communities should not have to settle for aging internet infrastructure. Residents increasingly see this utility as a deal-breaker. From white-collar professionals on a remote or hybrid work schedule to students completing assignments online, to patients taking virtual appointments, the internet is a requirement for full participation in modern society.
This remains true in communities catering to an older demographic. Seniors are increasingly web-savvy and are especially reliant on web connectivity to combat isolation and to provide access social services. The internet is not just a known quantity, it’s an essential tool in daily life, and an inevitable part of their considerations when evaluating housing options.
But even as manufactured housing communities grasp just how essential high-speed internet is for their residents, internet service providers concerned with their bottom line feel no similar sense of urgency. To them, there is not enough profit to warrant the amount of work required to provide fiber-optic connection.
Kwikbit can and will provide fiber-optic speeds without the infrastructural hurdles.
The Kwikbit Model Answers the Call
Kwikbit is a U.S.-based internet provider dedicated to making fiber-like speeds not only affordable but immediate. Sixty GHz millimeter wave radios enable the rapid deployment of multi-gigabit wireless networks, no matter the target size or location. The average customer pays $50 a month for commercial-grade broadband — a better price and better connectivity than most U.S. residents receive.
The company has consistently delivered affordable gigabit internet to manufactured housing communities nationwide with an aggressive 2022 expansion and deployments set for more than a thousand installations in Texas, Louisiana, Michigan, and California in the first quarter alone.
Simply look at Treasure Island Mobile Home and RV Park in the heart of Silicon Valley, one of the few bastions of affordable housing in San Francisco. For years, residents put up with sluggish internet speeds even though a fiber optic cable had been installed in the center of the mobile home park for years. The cost to connect every single household was unfortunately far too high. In 2020, with the community pushed to its limit, students fell behind in class and adults struggled to work remotely. Residents would even drive out to a restaurant or library parking lot just for wi-fi.
“Before Kwikbit, the biggest challenge was finding someone to be able to provide internet for this type of atmosphere,” said Treasure Island General Manager Gianna Arellano. “There just weren’t a lot of vendors that specialized in bringing high-speed broadband to RV parks.”
With the Kwikbit team on site, the first Treasure Island household was online within half an hour, and the community was enjoying state-of-the-art speeds later that same day.
Alimur Mobile Home Park in Santa Cruz has a similar story. Left on the wrong side of the digital divide with their internet providers they even got a government grant of $2.5 million to install fiber — and still not one resident was connected. Kwikbit’s 60 GHz wireless solution spoke louder than words to the Alimur community, according to resident and HOA board member Timothy Norton.
“Kwikbit delivered everything as promised and on time,” Norton said. “We were up and running in one hour and couldn’t be happier with the service.”
The Bottom Line
The internet is a basic utility that residents desire and demand. It is where we work, play, learn, and communicate. It is a conduit for the economy, public health, and public safety. Manufactured homes are no exception, but as long as large providers prioritize larger and more affluent areas, high-speed internet will remain out of reach.
“Our world is always innovating. You either modernize or you get left behind. And if you want to modernize, this is the way,” Costello said. “Kwikbit gives you fiber-like performance at a fraction of the time and cost. No wires, and best of all, no contracts.”
As manufactured housing communities rebrand and expand, high-speed connectivity offers a surefire approach to sell homes, drive occupancy, and boost the quality of life for manufactured home community residents.
Joe Costello is CEO of Kwikbit and executive chairman of Metrics Design Automation, Arrikto, Acromove, and ELPHiC. Previously, Costello led Cadence Design Systems to be the number one company software for designing chips, taking the company from $10 million in revenue to nearly $1 billion and making it one of the 10 largest software companies in the world.
If you brought up the concept of a manufactured housing community 10 years ago, eventually someone would throw out the term mobile home park or maybe even trailer park, conjuring images of low-income or transient communities.
Those days are gone. Manufactured homes are the new residence of the middle class, particularly in fast-growing and overheated housing markets throughout the U.S. They now are talked about as the new entry-level housing option for first-time homeowners, millennials, and an emerging generation of people in America who are upwardly mobile and focused on having all the amenities of a home, but in a close, safe, community.
A fundamental amenity for this new changing demographic is fast, affordable, and accessible internet. Kwikbit’s Lawrence Alioto captures the challenge simply.
“Modern manufactured housing isn’t complete without affordable broadband,” the head of strategy said.
Manufactured Housing in the Spotlight – Antiquated Technology drives the ‘Digital Divide’
Brandon Wilkerson of Kwikbit installs hardware at Treasure Island.
Manufactured housing — currently the largest source of unsubsidized affordable housing in the country — is growing at a staggering rate. This is particularly important as Americans seek solutions for the current housing crisis, not to mention increased natural disasters, and economic turmoil. As community residents diversify and grow, internet access isn’t any longer an amenity, it is a required service for this new demographic.
Unfortunately, manufactured housing communities are more often than not on the wrong side of the digital divide. This is through no fault of their own, but rather decades of inattention to upgrades from internet service providers who see these parks as too small or too isolated a market to bother properly investing in them. These providers are sometimes willing to offer high-cost service, but with long-term contracts, and speeds that are more reflective of the early 2000s than what is needed in 2022.
Look no further than the antiquated cable (or worse, DSL) systems in place in a majority of communities around the nation.
Manufactured home communities have been left behind.
Cable systems were designed for television and best suited for “downstream” traffic such as downloading files or streaming. Conversely, “upstream” refers to activity from the user to the provider, such as sending an email, doing a Zoom meeting or having a Facetime session. Typical cable service plans deliver only 5-10 megabits per second upstream.
Cable and DSL networks are reaching the end of their useful life in an era of remote work and online schooling. The promised solution is fiber, but the big problem with fiber is that it requires installing an entirely new set of cables either via utility poles or underground cables. These processes are lengthy, expensive, and even a risk in disaster-prone areas. While a major metropolis might have the funds to sink into such a project and fiber providers might invest to install fiber in a large, affluent community. That rarely has been the case for smaller, or aging manufactured.
The Internet as a Utility
Simply put, manufactured housing communities should not have to settle for aging internet infrastructure. Residents increasingly see this utility as a deal-breaker. From white-collar professionals on a remote or hybrid work schedule to students completing assignments online, to patients taking virtual appointments, the internet is a requirement for full participation in modern society.
This remains true in communities catering to an older demographic. Seniors are increasingly web-savvy and are especially reliant on web connectivity to combat isolation and to provide access social services. The internet is not just a known quantity, it’s an essential tool in daily life, and an inevitable part of their considerations when evaluating housing options.
But even as manufactured housing communities grasp just how essential high-speed internet is for their residents, internet service providers concerned with their bottom line feel no similar sense of urgency. To them, there is not enough profit to warrant the amount of work required to provide fiber-optic connection.
Kwikbit can and will provide fiber-optic speeds without the infrastructural hurdles.
The Kwikbit Model Answers the Call
Kwikbit is a U.S.-based internet provider dedicated to making fiber-like speeds not only affordable but immediate. Sixty GHz millimeter wave radios enable the rapid deployment of multi-gigabit wireless networks, no matter the target size or location. The average customer pays $50 a month for commercial-grade broadband — a better price and better connectivity than most U.S. residents receive.
The company has consistently delivered affordable gigabit internet to manufactured housing communities nationwide with an aggressive 2022 expansion and deployments set for more than a thousand installations in Texas, Louisiana, Michigan, and California in the first quarter alone.
Simply look at Treasure Island Mobile Home and RV Park in the heart of Silicon Valley, one of the few bastions of affordable housing in San Francisco. For years, residents put up with sluggish internet speeds even though a fiber optic cable had been installed in the center of the mobile home park for years. The cost to connect every single household was unfortunately far too high. In 2020, with the community pushed to its limit, students fell behind in class and adults struggled to work remotely. Residents would even drive out to a restaurant or library parking lot just for wi-fi.
“Before Kwikbit, the biggest challenge was finding someone to be able to provide internet for this type of atmosphere,” said Treasure Island General Manager Gianna Arellano. “There just weren’t a lot of vendors that specialized in bringing high-speed broadband to RV parks.”
With the Kwikbit team on site, the first Treasure Island household was online within half an hour, and the community was enjoying state-of-the-art speeds later that same day.
Alimur Mobile Home Park in Santa Cruz has a similar story. Left on the wrong side of the digital divide with their internet providers they even got a government grant of $2.5 million to install fiber — and still not one resident was connected. Kwikbit’s 60 GHz wireless solution spoke louder than words to the Alimur community, according to resident and HOA board member Timothy Norton.
“Kwikbit delivered everything as promised and on time,” Norton said. “We were up and running in one hour and couldn’t be happier with the service.”
The Bottom Line
The internet is a basic utility that residents desire and demand. It is where we work, play, learn, and communicate. It is a conduit for the economy, public health, and public safety. Manufactured homes are no exception, but as long as large providers prioritize larger and more affluent areas, high-speed internet will remain out of reach.
“Our world is always innovating. You either modernize or you get left behind. And if you want to modernize, this is the way,” Costello said. “Kwikbit gives you fiber-like performance at a fraction of the time and cost. No wires, and best of all, no contracts.”
As manufactured housing communities rebrand and expand, high-speed connectivity offers a surefire approach to sell homes, drive occupancy, and boost the quality of life for manufactured home community residents.
Joe Costello is CEO of Kwikbit and executive chairman of Metrics Design Automation, Arrikto, Acromove, and ELPHiC. Previously, Costello led Cadence Design Systems to be the number one company software for designing chips, taking the company from $10 million in revenue to nearly $1 billion and making it one of the 10 largest software companies in the world.
The new normal. The last few years have at lighting speed changed the way we live. Working in an office and fighting traffic for many has become an option instead of a requirement. As a result, our priorities have shifted like never before.
Rent costs are outpacing home prices, more of us are working from our homes, and a staggering 45 million millennials are ready to become first-time home buyers. So now our industry has record opportunities ahead of us to sell more homes than ever.
The biggest luxury that most of us cherish is time. How we live to protect and celebrate this luxury is evident and will be even more so in 2022.
We have created a curated collection of the top 22 design trends that we think we will see in design and homes in 2022. This list is going to be like speed dating — a short description of what the trends are, and if you find some of them interesting, we hope that you will let us know, and we’ll be happy to share more about them in future editions of MHInsider or online at mhinsider.com.
Color is back, and happy colors like greens and blues will be seen in more homes. Photos courtesy of Lisa Stewart Photography. (Clayton Homes Of Corsicana)
A moveable wall in an ADU provides small space flexibility. (Genesis Home by Champion)
Biophilic Design A big word and trend you may be unfamiliar with, but it will become a household word in 2022. Simply put, biophilic design is when you connect people with nature in their homes using natural design elements. Consumers embrace gardening and indoor plants in ways that we haven’t seen in decades. Living plants add a sense of calm to a space and also help to naturally improve air quality – an issue that will continue to rise in importance as we move through the next few years.
It’s a Lifestyle For most of us, our lifestyles have changed drastically in the last few years. With this comes how we live in our homes and our needs. Re-evaluating how consumers will live in our homes is a priority for the new year.
Less Isn’t Always More Now that many of us are spending more time at home, having suitable rooms and spaces has become even more critical. Open floorplans look like they are about to become a thing of the past, and consumers are now looking for more defined, intimate spaces that make it more possible to have to leave home less often. Bedrooms are about to become smaller, so square footage can be used for a home office, hobby space, or study hall the entire family can use.
Moveable Walls Urbaneer has teamed up with Champion Homes to build compact housing, especially in the Midwest region. This compact housing is not only ideal for a second home or to use as an accessory dwelling unit (ADU), but it also features living space on-demand with moveable walls. The companies showcased this style of home at the 2020 International Builders Show, and now we are seeing this moveable wall concept in luxury site-built homes.
I’ll Take Two: Vacation Airbnb Homes Consumers are more conscious than ever about the cleanliness of public spaces. Many are considering purchasing a second home they can enjoy and possibly use as an income maker as an Airbnb vacation rental. This trend will open the doors to an entirely new buyer segment for our industry.
Accessory Dwelling Units With the massive affordable housing crisis we are now facing, more cities are becoming open to letting ADUs into their communities. Factory-built housing is the perfect solution for this construction need, and I think we will be seeing more interest in this type of housing in the future.
Rental Home Communities Site builders are investing heavily in a new type of community: rental communities where single-family homes are only for rent. Many concierge-style services are available. This is an option for people who don’t want to live in an apartment but can’t afford to buy their own homes. If this sounds familiar to you, it’s because this is what our industry has been doing for decades in our land-lease communities, except in many instances, we also allow them to own their own homes while keeping their costs down by leasing the land to them. We have a perfect opportunity to introduce consumers – especially millennials – to our community living while there is so much interest.
Spin The Color Wheel Color is back! Bold blues and greens will be back in living spaces, and simply put, consumers are attracted to colors that make them happy. You will be seeing a lot less grey, colorless interiors and exteriors in the year to come.
Going With The Grain Consumers again appreciate the look of natural woods throughout the home. Naturally, dramatic wood styles are at a premium, and customers prefer a natural finish instead of heavy stains. This is true with flooring, and patterns are becoming popular again, with herringbone being one of the favorites.
The New Entertainment Center Cooking at home is one of the hottest trends that we are seeing. People are spending a lot more time in this area of their homes, and they have discovered the “Joy of Cooking” like never before. With the money they are saving eating at home instead of dining out, they purchase premium appliances and upgrade their spaces like never before. Don’t expect them to settle with an oven that doesn’t heat evenly or a refrigerator that doesn’t control temperature and humidity correctly. If you haven’t looked into offering a cooks kitchen as an upgrade, you may be leaving money on the kitchen table.
Behind Closed Doors Clutter is one of the biggest turnoffs to our new buyers, and instead of cabinets replaced with open shelves, they ask for their cabinets back. Now more than ever, people want and use air fryers, sous vide wands, and toaster ovens, so dedicating a storage space or appliance garage for these items to be stored in is a must. A nice touch includes power in the back of these cabinets, so the appliances are ready to use.
Get Smart CEDIA, the Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association, is a wealth of information about how intelligent design has evolved and where we go from here. The cost and size of the technology can help us control everything from the lighting and locks in your vacation home that is thousands of miles away to let you know that your freezer door is open in the next room. They predicted that this type of technology would be priced to be available to almost everyone within 10 years. Smart Living Made Simple is what consumers now expect – if it takes you more than three clicks to get a result, they won’t use it.
Power Up As a Texan, I learned firsthand how vital the power grid could be to my lifestyle. With the weather becoming more unpredictable, consumers are more interested in solar and backup energy sources such as generators. Electric cars have become mainstream and more affordable. Charging stations are now being installed at Walmart and your favorite restaurants. Providing options for power sources like these lets your customer know that you have done your homework and understand that you are preparing for the future.
Walk-in Pantries Having a pantry or laundry room that is large enough to house those extra appliances and bulk buys from Costco are becoming a must-have. These need to be located next to or adjoining the kitchen and should have a deep sink and possibly a dishwasher for cleaning up. Freestanding freezers are very much in demand again, and upright models like the one that Beko offers make it easy to enjoy produce and housemade sauces and meals all year long.
Zoom Rooms rooms like this well-designed space at the Kips Bay Dallas showhouse are becoming more popular as we spend hours on Zoom calls or create our podcasts. Having the right sound-absorbing materials and correct lighting is a must.
Looking Up We also saw lots of rooms at the Kips Bay showhouse with beautiful ceiling colors and details. This can be a great way to bring buyers’ attention upwards and call attention to your higher ceiling heights.
Mid Century Modern Warm woods, restrained lines, and warm, saturated colors quickly replace the stark white farmhouse look that has been popular for so long. This look started and has always been popular in the Midwest, but you now see it from coast to coast. Greens and blues are the stars of this look as well, and it feels good to not only dress up and go out again ourselves but also to let our homes become a little more sophisticated as well. We love how this style feels all grown up, just like we do.
Thoughtful Design A place for everything and everything in its place. The days of clutter and having “stuff” for stuff’s sake are over. Homeowners are now collecting and curating items that mean something to them. Their spaces mirror their tastes and lifestyles, not what they are shown at a local big box store or website. Mixing grandmothers china with a stunning acrylic dining table isn’t only OK, it’s preferred. And if those items have some character and possibly some whimsy to them, they are even more in vogue.
Finishing Touches Metal and wood finishes are warmer than we have seen in the last few years. Black windows, industrial styling, and shiny surfaces are replaced by unlacquered brass and mixed metal finishes. Faucets, hardware, and lighting look like they have been around for a hundred years but have a new, clean, modern style.
Seeing The Light LED lighting has not only become more affordable, it now offers so many exciting design solutions it is hard to know where to start. Flush ceiling lighting has evolved from extensive, protruding eyeballs to tiny square boxes that you hardly notice but can provide hundreds of lumens each. Single pendant lighting has lost its appeal, and we are now seeing oversized shades and lights that are more in scale with our larger open spaces and look more like a work of art than just a source of light.
The Healthy Home Consumers are more concerned than ever about how their home can affect their health and wellbeing. Companies like Beko, a new to the United States appliance company, have realized that healthy living is only possible on a healthy planet and are creating extraordinary new appliances to help us live a healthier lifestyle. Other companies that follow this mindset will be at the forefront soon.
True To You: Being Genuine Now more than ever, earning a new buyer’s trust should be the essential part of your company’s mission statement. With so much social media and untruths out there, customers need to know whom to believe and who will help them through the most significant investment they will probably ever make. When we design and sell a home, it is our reputation and the reputation of the entire industry that is at stake. If you are fair to the customer and lead with honesty, you’ll have a customer for life.
Retro collections are trending in spaces like this great zoom room/dj booth that was once a closet. (Kips Bay Dallas 21 Showhome)
Kinnebrook Manufactured Home Community, Monticello, NY.
Updated Maryland, New Hampshire, New York JLT Market Reports for MHCs Available Now
Manufactured home communities in the northeastern United States show sustained growth in rent and occupancy, according to updated reports published by Datacomp, the industry leader in manufactured home appraisal and market data.
Rent and occupancy trends for manufactured home communities in Maryland, New Hampshire, and New York are available for order, including immediate download.
JLT Market Reports provide detailed research and vital information on communities in 186 major housing markets throughout the United States. Along with the latest rent trends and occupancy statistics, the manufactured home community market reports include information on home types, amenities, community infrastructure, as well as other management insights.
Datacomp is the nation’s top provider of manufactured housing data, and JLT Market Reports are recognized as the industry standard for manufactured housing community market analysis.
March 2021 JLT manufactured housing market data includes information on 229 “All ages” and “55+” manufactured home communities and 40,153 homesites in Maryland, New Hampshire, and New York.
Manufactured Housing Community Data in the Northeast
The Northeast region 55+ communities experienced an adjusted rent increase of 2.9% and an increase in occupancy of 0.5%
The Northeast region all-ages communities experienced an adjusted rent increase of 3.5% and an increase in occupancy of 0.6%
“Manufactured housing community rent and occupancy in the March 2022 publications showed continued steady growth, with only a single set of counties in New York experiencing a slight dip in occupancy rates,” Datacomp Co-President and Chief Business Development Officer Darren Krolewski said.
More About 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
JLT Market Reports also include management insights that rank communities by the number of homesites, occupancy rates and highest to lowest rents. Established reports show trends in each market with a comparison of March 2022 rents and occupancy rates to March 2021, as well as a historical recap of rents and occupancy from 1996 to present date in most markets.
The March 2022 Maryland, New Hampshire, and New York JLT Reports for manufactured home communities are available for purchase and immediate download online at the Datacomp JLT Market Report website, 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 business decisions.
Change Also Calls for Transparency on Marketing Deals
The Federal Communications Commission last month adopted new rules that will prohibit exclusive agreements between multi-family property owners and telecommunications providers to ”unlock broadband competition for those living and working in apartments, public housing, office buildings, and other multi-tenant buildings”.
The rules are anticipated to be entered to the Federal Register any day, and after 180 days will prohibit “certain broadband agreements”, including at least some exclusive agreements, as well as profit-sharing within agreements, and also will require transparency to residents and tenants on any other marketing deals in place between the entities.
Additionally, in what the FCC calls a Declaratory Ruling, a clarification will be issued that will prohibit so-called “sale-and-leaseback arrangements” of cable infrastructure, which the FCC deems anti-competitive.
“One third of this country live in multi-tenant buildings where there often is only one choice for a broadband provider, and no ability to shop for a better deal,” Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said. “The rules we adopt today will crack down on practices that prevent competition and effectively block a consumer’s ability to get lower prices or higher quality services.”
The new rules were set in motion in January when Rosenworcel circulated a proposed “Report and Order” and the Declaratory Ruling, which have since been approved 4-0 by the commission. The Report and Order includes language on page 9, bullet 14 that puts the onus on the telecom providers rather than housing providers to abide by the change, that it will exempt single-service providers of broadband/VOiP, and that further application of the rules may arise as more information becomes available.
MHI’s Reaction to the New FCC Rules
The Manufactured Housing Institute sent a statement to members last week on the FCC’s direction.
“The aim of the new rule is to create more internet options for tenants but disregards the high cost of building out an internet infrastructure and the cost savings of group pricing,” MHI stated.
MHI will continue to research the new FCC rules and communicate the potential outcomes on the industry during the coming weeks and months. Among the most likely negative impacts could be more erosion of choices for consumers living in rural areas where a great number of manufactured home communities are situated.
Bookmark MHInsider to keep up on the latest manufactured housing news, and check this post for updates and perspective as details become available.
I’ve seen this industry’s evolution firsthand through working as a community operator over the past 15 years. As we are amid an economic boom in our industry and everyone’s focus is on value addition, I believe it is important to understand how we got to this point by taking a holistic view of our industry since the 2008 recession. By understanding where we are coming from, we can make the best decisions on how to add value moving forward in this ever-changing environment.
The Old World
Flashback to 2006, when you could purchase a community with 90-plus percent loan to value, there were multiple non-recourse chattel lenders to finance new home sales, and very few operators were renting houses. As such, selling homes could be done at volume (and for a nice profit). Then came the Great Recession, with chattel lenders going out of business overnight, our resident bases losing their jobs, and community financing becoming more difficult to obtain. Communities lost occupancy through resident loan defaults with home inventories purchased, sold, and removed by third-party home wholesalers.
The Climb Back
Infilling communities with used homes and homes for rent became popular value-add business models in the years following 2008. Communities had large vacancies to fill, but selling new product was difficult. Rental homes allowed community owners to fill vacancies in short order by offering an alternative to ownership. Meanwhile, used homes offered a more affordable solution to home ownership (or rental) and removed the need for chattel financing, which for the most part, required community owner recourse.
The Boom (Pre-COVID)
Fast forward to 2019: communities are being sold at record high prices, the rental model is in full effect, the market and supply for used homes is dwindling and new homes are being sold again in markets that have struggled since 2008. The segment is consolidating as tremendous new tax benefits spur a flood of investment as the low cost of capital allows institutional investors to take advantage of large community purchases that would otherwise produce low returns.
The Boom Part II (COVID and beyond)
Since March of 2020 the industry has continued to see an increase in demand as rent collections and occupancy remain high through COVID and as the affordable housing crisis continues. Traditional housing prices across the country have skyrocketed in the wake of low inventory levels and worldwide supply chain issues, which have increased new home prices and lead times to new heights. Because of these real and enduring market factors Manufactured Housing has become an even more viable alternative. For an industry that has battled a negative stigma for years, a positive change is taking place with the future looking bright.
How to Add Value in Today’s Economy
Prices of communities and homes (new and used) have increased dramatically since the onset of COVID and getting those homes onsite has become one of the biggest obstacles to overcome. Community owners and operators are faced with the same key questions as in years past related to one primary factor: How to best add value to our communities?
Do we hold and wait out the high home prices and lead times? Meanwhile, our communities lose the best opportunity in more than a decade to fill vacancies with qualified tenants
Do we purchase new homes? Pay the surcharges and patiently wait for new homes and hope that the increase in demand covers the increase in price for the homes and construction cost?
Do we purchase and rent new homes? Use the profit that we receive for home rent to offset the rising costs all around us?
Do we try to source used homes? Pay an increased premium along with a decreasing ability to find a good quality product?
The answer to all these questions is: it depends. Owning and operating a Manufactured Housing Community is not “paint by numbers” or a walk in the park. Selling homes as the primary/only business model used to be a no-brainer, but now with community prices being so high, the profit from a home rental program can become necessary for community success. At Blank Family Communities, we have been a strong proponent of the hybrid home sale and rental home model in the Midwest as it still yields the greatest absorption rate of homes and net operating income bump. The rental model is especially successful in secondary and tertiary markets (most communities in primary markets have been purchased by institutional operators). Most community owners we meet now are newer to the industry and have paid a premium for their community, even the vacant sites. So, the pressure to infill homes is at an all-time high.
Today, as president of Blank Family Communities, a third-party property management company based in Michigan, I see great opportunity, coupled with even greater risk. Managing our ever-changing environment in MH is critical. Ownership must possess the ability to properly budget; forecast new home availability and related costs and surcharges; model proper scenarios for the financial needs of a community, and gain and maintain occupancy to push NOI. These factors and others need to be developed properly to ensure success today and for those to come.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index for U.S. home prices shows an 18.8 percent increase for 2021, but with a general slowing in the rate of home price increases toward the latter half of the year. Month-over-month, December 2021 showed a 1.3 percent increase compared after seasonal adjustments compared with the same month the year prior.
In December, all 20 cities reported increases before and after seasonal adjustments, the report stated.
“This month’s report covers December 2021, and therefore brings our reporting on calendar 2021 to a close,” S&P Dow Jones Indices Managing Director Craig J. Lazzara said. “For the year, the National Composite Index recorded a gain of 18.8 percent. This is the highest calendar-year increase in 34 years of data, and substantially ahead of 2020’s 10.4 perce t gain.”
The 10-City Composite annual increase for 2021 came in at 17 percent, up from 16.9 percent in the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted an 18.6 percent year-over-year gain, up from 18.3 percent in the previous month. Phoenix, Tampa, and Miami reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities in December. Phoenix led the way with a 32.5 percent year-over-year price increase, followed by Tampa with a 29.4 percent increase and Miami with a 27.3 percent increase.
“We have noted that for the past several months, home prices have been rising at a very high, but decelerating rate. The deceleration paused in December, as year-over-year changes in all three composite indices were slightly ahead of their November levels,” Lazzara said. “December’s 18.8 percent gain for the National Composite is the fifth-highest reading in history.”
It has been suggested, Lazzara said, that the strength in the U.S. housing market is driven in part by a change in locational preferences as households react to the COVID pandemic.
“More data will be required to understand whether this demand surge simply represents an acceleration of purchases that would have occurred over the next several years rather than a more permanent secular change.,” he said. “In the short term, meanwhile, we should soon begin to see the impact of increasing mortgage rates on home prices.”
The Biloxi Manufactured Housing Expo has announced that the 2022 event will employ a new programming format, placing emphasis on education and networking for the manufactured housing industry.
The Biloxi Manufactured Housing Expo, which will take place from March 28-30, 2022 at the IP Casino Resort Spa in Biloxi, Miss., will provide a platform for addressing the common challenges in the industry, and better educate manufacturers, community owners, suppliers, retailers, and others on advances in the production, sale, and virtual market of manufactured homes.
While past years of the event have hosted model manufactured homes on site for attendees to view, the focus on seminars and education for the 2022 year will allow attendees to network with industry thought leaders and professionals and stay up to date on the industry’s changes and latest innovations.
Previously known as the Tunica Show, the South Central Manufactured Housing Institute (SCMHI) comprised of the Alabama Manufactured Housing Association and the Mississippi Manufactured Housing Association oversee this unique industry event.
Biloxi Manufactured Housing Expo Offers Exclusive Industry Programming
The Biloxi Manufactured Housing Expo will offer three days of programming, receptions, and events for manufactured housing professionals, including a golf tournament on Monday, March 28.
At the Biloxi Manufactured Housing Expo, attendees can attend sessions such as:
Manufacturer’s Panel – The Reality of Doing Business in the Pandemic New Normal
MH Advantage™, CHOICEHome™: How Today’s MH is Changing the Industry
Connecting with the Next Generation of Community Residents – They’re Not Just for Seniors Any More
Sales Management 3.0: You Can’t Manage Sales Like It’s 1980
From Rent-Collector to Sales Superstar – The Enhanced Role of Community Managers
Virtual Selling: Competing for Buyers in a Digital World
State Association Executive Directors Panel
Appraisal Insights for Success
Low Tech Marketing to Sell More
New to Manufactured Housing? What Everyone in the Industry Should Know, and the Department of Energy’s Proposed Regulation Means for Your Bottom Line
And more!
“We’re excited to offer more for our attendees in 2022 with a new location, new date, and a new event format,” Mississippi Manufactured Housing Association Executive Director Jennifer Hall said. “The importance of meeting in-person to share knowledge, industry updates, and best practices has never been more important, so this new direction for the Biloxi Manufactured Housing Expo will make this year a historic one for the event.”
Register Today for the 2022 Biloxi 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. Registration is free for retailers and community owners and managers. Housing for the event is available at the IP Casino Resort Spa in Biloxi with a special rate for attendees through Monday, February 21.
Sponsorship slots also are available prior to the event. Sponsoring companies will receive ongoing recognition leading up to the show, onsite and post-event, all while maximizing brand visibility at one of the industry’s largest events. For more information on how to become a sponsor, visit biloxihomeshow.com/sponsorships.
Formerly known as the Tunica Show, this new city and venue will be the home to hundreds of manufactured housing professionals, specially curated educational workshops, endless networking, and leading manufacturers and service-suppliers on the expo hall floor. The event is being hosted by the South Central Manufactured Housing Institute (SCHMI) and managed by the industry-centric digital marketing agency ManufacturedHomes.com, in collaboration with the MHInsider, the industry’s award-winning news source for manufactured housing professionals.
About The Biloxi Manufactured Housing Expo
The Biloxi Manufactured Housing Expo is an industry conference for manufactured housing professionals and is not open to the general public.
In August, the RV/MH Hall of Fame will celebrate the 2025 class of inductees, five from each industry.
“Our selection committees held meetings to review...
