Home Blog Page 53

November JLT Manufactured Home Community Reports from Datacomp Published for Idaho, Minn., Ore., Wash.

By
Patrick Revere
-
JLT Market information on communities

Manufactured housing community JLT Market Reports from Datacomp for November 2020 mobile home rent comps, occupancy, and other vital data from Idaho, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington are now available for purchase and immediate download.

JLT Market Reports provide detailed research and information on communities in 186 housing markets throughout the United States. These include the latest rent trends and statistics, marketing programs, and a variety of other useful management insights.

Datacomp maintains and provides the JLT Market Reports and is the nation’s #1 provider of market data for the manufactured housing industry. JLT Market Reports are recognized as the industry standard for manufactured home community market analysis.

The November 2020 manufactured housing market data published in JLT Market Reports for Idaho, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington include information from 10 markets on 294  “All ages” and “55+” manufactured home communities.

Altogether, the reports from the four states’ manufactured home communities include data representations for 50,547  homesites.

Regional Trends in Manufactured Housing Community Rent

  • Midwest region manufactured home communities show a year-over-year 3.8% increase in rent and a 2.1% increase in occupancy.
  • Pacific region manufactured home communities show a year-over-year 3.0% increase in rent and a 0.1% increase in occupancy.
  • West region manufactured home communities show a year-over-year 4.5% increase in rent and a 0.9% increase in occupancy.

“November 2020 JLT Market Reports continue to show that manufactured housing community rent and occupancy is incredibly stable, in the northwestern tier and through much of the country,” Datacomp Co-President and Chief Business Development Officer Darren Krolewski said. “This is important because U.S. manufactured housing stock is growing in response to affordable housing demand, and housing stability becomes increasingly critical as we navigate the pandemic, stay-at-home measures, and shutdowns or limitations in various industries.”

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
  • Oregon rent control and next increase data
  • 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 November 2020 rents and occupancy rates to November 2019, as well as a historical recap of rents and occupancy from 1996 to the present date in most markets.

The November 2020 JLT Market Reports for Idaho, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington 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.

Industry Mourns the Passing of Deer Valley’s Chet Murphree

By
Patrick Revere
-
Chet Murphree memoriam obit collage

Charles “Chet” Murphree, president and general manager for Deer Valley Homebuilders, passed away Oct. 24. He was one of the founders of the company, and a primary contributor to the industry.

Mr. Murphree had been ailing. He was 59. Services and burial were on Oct. 28 in Hartselle, Ala.

Joey Aycock, Deer Valley’s director of sales, said Murphree was a great business partner and a better friend.

“Chet was a true visionary for our company and our industry as well. His creative designs along with the ability to stay within the confines of factory-built production techniques exemplified the direction our industry is headed,” Aycock said. “He always had a passion for designing homes that would put our company and industry in a different light.

“We all loved Chet and he loved this industry and the people he met,” Aycock said. “He will be missed by many.”

Mr. Murphree was born May 8, 1961, in Morgan County, Ala., to Charles Leroy Murphree and Elizabeth Ann Sample. He graduated from Decatur High School and of the University of Alabama-Hunstville. Along with being president and general manager of Deer Valley Homebuilders, he was one of the company founders and served on the board of directors.

Involvement in Industry Advancement

Mr. Murphree was Person of the Year for the Alabama Manufactured Housing Commission in 2015. He was inducted into the Alabama Manufactured Housing Industry Hall of Fame in 2017. He served on the Alabama State Board for Manufactured Housing and on the board for the Alabama Housing Foundation.

“Chet Murphree had such an impact on our industry, not just with Deer Valley but also serving on our state SAA’s Advisory Board and on the board of our charitable foundation,” Alabama Manufactured Housing Association Executive Director Lance Latham said. “He was always thinking about others, and trying to help those in need. His devout faith in Jesus Christ showed though in everything he did. Our loss is truly heaven’s gain.”

Mr. Murphree also served on the board of Real Party Ministry.

He was preceded in death by daughters Kendall Page and Kelsey Graham Murphree. He is survived by his wife Lisa Graham Murphree, daughter Carly Sample Murphree, father Charles Leroy Murphree, and nine siblings.

Donations may be made to Real Party Ministry, P.O. Box 2302, Hamilton, AL 35570.

Drone Mapping for Real Estate

By
Contributed Content
-
drone mapping black field

Drone Mapping Strategies Benefit Manufactured Housing Communities

By Seth Thompson, National Land Realty

Year to year, the evolution of computer technology can be staggering. In most cases, the advancements cause disruption— and opportunity—in every industry. In real estate, one such disruption is caused by drones, which have become an extremely effective tool for mapping and marketing property. 

Drone mapping is replacing manned aerial flyovers, like Google Earth, a technology the industry has relied on for decades. More than taking pictures, videos, and plotting property boundaries on a map, drone mapping provides buyers and sellers with low-cost, high-resolution, and frequently updated imagery.

Drone Mapping for Manufactured Housing Communities

drone mapping white closeup cameraDrones autonomously capture multiple overlapping images that are georeferenced and stitched together to create an orthomosaic, used just like any other layer in a GIS to serve as an accurate, high-resolution, updated aerial basemap.

Data such as boundary lines, trails, flood zones, and topographic contours can be laid on top of the drone imagery for mapping. Informative manufactured housing community data about utilities, damage, repair, and maintenance also be collected and plotted.

Photogrammetric software is available for drone mapping, such as Pix4D, DroneDeploy. Each software has its pros and cons, but all generate more than just imagery. A standard DJI drone and camera alone can create 3D meshes, digital elevation models, and measure plant health (via VARI algorithm). The data outputs can be used to generate topographic contours, identify troubled areas in agricultural fields, or even help determine the best location to build.

A small, helpful practice is adding the property boundaries and descriptive text on the drone photos. Software such as Photoshop or GIMP can aid with editing the raster photos themselves and adding vector boundaries and text.

drone mapping pilot

Drone Pilot Certification

Drone pilots will tell you one of the best parts of drone mapping is being able to fly as you show a property to potential buyers, or discuss expansion projects with contractors.

It is even possible to buy and sell properties that have never been walked in person, because of the ability to survey the property through a live feed on a tablet from an airborne drone.

An FAA Part 107 certification is highly recommended for becoming a successful drone pilot and drone mapping. Many local and online schools offer preparation for the 60-question test. Drone Launch Academy online offers a pass guarantee or your money back.

Occasionally, you will need to coordinate with the airport before you fly, so it is always a clever idea to plan your flights ahead of time, particularly if a property or established community is near an airport or restricted airspace.

The Bottom Line About Drone Mapping

Modern drone technology is an excellent mapping tool that helps agents close deals more quickly. There are an exponential number of supplementary applications that provide a myriad of benefits to those in the broker industry. When all is said and done, drone mapping is a must-have for every listing in the brokerage industry.

Seth Thompson is a Realtor with National Land Realty licensed in Northwest Alabama and based out of the Tuscumbia (Ala.) office. The company’s proprietary video technology, Land Tour 360™, as well as its GIS land mapping system, LandBase™, is offered for free to the public. As a Land Professional, Thompson offers professional representation, integrity, and a keen depth of knowledge in land transactions.

YES Communities Starts New Podcast to Profile Resident Voices, Experiences

By
Patrick Revere
-
Yes communities podcast

YES Communities has launched a new podcast to tell the stories of residents and to share the dynamic advantages of living in a manufactured home community.

 “What Living Means” is available at YES Communities website as well as through most commonly used podcasting platforms.

YES Communities Vice President of Marketing Vanessa Jasinski is the host of the show, which will provide a mix of authentic resident stories with discussions about particular experiences in raising children, engaging with the broader community, and finding ways to live affordably.

“This podcast is a way to look at manufactured home communities a little more closely from all angles, with both serious discussion and entertainment thrown in,” Jasinski said. “We work to make quality, affordable housing a reality for individuals and families across the United States—now we want to share those stories.”

Steven Schaub, YES Communities CEO, said “What Living Means” explores and brings to a wider audience the individual stories of the residents are powerful, and need to be heard in a new way. Guests on the show will share experiences from manufactured home communities nationwide, providing a variety of backgrounds and perspectives.

Some current topics being explored include the impact of afterschool programs for manufactured home community residents, the value of organized sports for children, and local resources that can provide family support and structure for individual residents.

“Our goal is to inform our listeners and recognize the individuals who are a part of YES Communities. We believe that both our residents and community team deserve more appreciation for the integral part they play both in their individual communities, as well as our larger YES Communities family,” Schaub said “We want to highlight the impactful but sometimes overlooked everyday actions that take place in our communities. We believe the podcast will allow a wider audience to join us in experiencing the extraordinary magic that lives in our family of communities.”

Gen Z Homebuyer Research Highlights Housing Needs

By
Patrick Revere
-
Clayton research Gen Z homebuyer

Clayton Publishes New Generation Z Housing and Consumer Research Findings on Flexible Floor Plans, Sustainability Trends

Clayton, a national homebuilder of site-built and off-site built homes, recently conducted a study about the housing needs and preferences for the youngest generation of consumers, with supporting insights on Gen Z from US MONITOR syndicated research by Kantar™ on consumers’ attitudes and values.

Generation Z, or the Gen Z homebuyer, represents people born between 1997 to 2010. They are the most racially diverse generation in the U.S. and currently makeup 18% of the population, according to 2018 data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

With the oldest of Gen Z consumers now in their early 20s, many are starting to consider their future housing preferences. And the generation represents a powerful and outspoken group of customers, possessing a 2018 estimate of over $198 billion in collective consumer spending power, according to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of Economic Analysis.

“The U.S. housing industry is currently experiencing very low interest rates, high demand and inventory shortages during a time when families and individuals are seeking homeownership as a solution for comfort and security,” said Kevin Clayton, CEO of Clayton. “Gen Z, the youngest generation of home buyers, passionately understands the importance of choosing the right products and brands to serve their needs, and that also applies to choice in housing.”

4 Key Insights from Younger Buyers… they want

A Variety of Floor Plan Options

An internal Clayton research study, Home Built to Take Care of Me, Spring 2020, shows the household composition is shifting – there is a decrease of traditional nuclear family households. Therefore, buyers could seek flexible options outside of the traditional 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom layout. 

Technology in the Home

Clayton also concluded in its study that 74% of those in their 20s say technology makes their home easier to live in, compared to 68% of all adults.

More Flex Spaces

More than 60% of homebuyers in their 20s report it is very important that their home can adapt to their changing lifestyles and life stages to come, according to the Clayton research study.  For example, many Clayton off-site built homes come with floor plan options for work from home office spaces, creative areas or additional bedrooms.

Sustainability is Key

Kantar’s 2020 US MONITOR reports that if a product costs and performs the same, 71% of Gen Z buyers will always choose one that is more environmentally friendly, versus 56% of the rest of consumers. The optional EnergySmart™ Home Package upgrade is an example of a series of energy-efficient standards like additional insulation, sealed ductwork, and Low-E windows a home buyer can purchase with their new home.

“Gen Z is growing up in a world of volatility, unpredictability and untold lifestyle choices that create both anxiety and possibility – shaping values that will last a lifetime”, says Ann Clurman, partner and generations expert at Kantar. “They have grounded realistic expectations for themselves and are learning to value being financially responsible, circumspect and ethical when it comes to living their lives.”

Since COVID-19, America has entered an economic downturn and homebuyers are having to reconsider how they work, attend school, shop, and invest their spending money. Off-site built homes, which include manufactured, modular, and CrossMod™ homes, are providing new solutions for today’s youngest generation of homebuyers through a variety of design options, built-in technology, flexible floor plans, and energy efficiency home features – options Gen Z buyers want and expect in their homes.

Every Clayton Built® home comes with technology buyers crave such as, Kwikset® SmartKey Security™ to allow homeowners the ability to quickly reset their house keys and an ecobee® smart thermostat, which can seamlessly integrate with several smart home systems like Apple® HomeKit™ and Amazon® Alexa®. Additionally, flex spaces in the homes allow homeowners to choose how they wish to use specific spaces at different times – for example, a gaming room, craft space, guest bedroom, nursery, or home office.

Clayton off-site built homes are built with sustainability in mind. Every off-site built home is constructed inside of an ISO-14001 certified home building facility, where green building standards help regulate better recycling, energy usage, and landfill waste diversion.

To learn more about the Gen Z Home Buyer, please view Clayton’s helpful infographic on this generation’s preferences and trends

Gen Z Homebuyer infographic

Relief from Cost of Lumber on the Horizon for Builders

By
Patrick Revere
-
Cost of lumber prices

Manufactured home builders and buyers will continue to face COVID-related, historically high lumber costs, but may find seasonal relief with an autumn price drop created by the slowing of construction and home improvement in the county’s northern tier.

Cavco Industries President Bill Boor said the availability of lumber has loosened in recent weeks, and some lumber types in most markets have dropped in price.

“It’s nice to see some relief from the fast and huge run-up this year,” Boor said. “Where we were very concerned about getting lumber at any price a short while ago, availability has really improved.”

Lumber, and the greater than 160% increase in cost since COVID-related shutdowns began, has been the thorn in the side of manufactured home builders in all parts of the U.S.

Cost of Lumber Availability

The Cost of Lumber is ‘Eating Our Lunch’

Legacy Housing CEO Curtis Hodgson was quoted by the Wall Street Journal recently to have said during an investor conference “Lumber’s eating our lunch”.

The spring and summer’s dramatic increase in the cost of lumber is the result of low inventory in anticipation of a spring crash given COVID restrictions. While there was a short, sharp dip, the demand for lumber rose rapidly throughout the spring and summer as a move to the suburbs ensued aside massive homeowner push for expansions and improvements. Most building industry analysts and operators anticipated a longer and more disruptive lull in building and home buying.

Lumber mills and warehouses have spent much of the interim catching up.

Monthly home starts, for instance, dipped very briefly in the spring but were at pre-pandemic highs of better than 1.4 million again by July. Shiller’s Home Price Index followed a similar route before rising and leveling in the early fall.

Rich Rice, general manager for Adventure Homes, in Garrett, Ind., said lumber purchasing pressure has eased in recent weeks from the unprecedented heights.

“We have an unprecedented backlog, the demand for homes has not slowed at all for us during the pandemic,” Rice said. “Interest rates are at an all-time low with no changes in sight.

“Unprecedented, I can’t believe how many times I’ve used that word recently,” he added.

Rice said at the Garrett, Ind., facility, lumber costs make up about 24% of the value of the home.

Will Autumn Drop in Lumber Cost Impact HUD Home Builders?

Companies that build manufactured homes in cold-weather states may gain the most with high demand and an annual price reprieve.

Tim Hartzell is the director of pricing for Commodore Corporation, based in Indiana but with facilities from Pennsylvania to North Carolina.

“The run-up was hard to understand, and our home cost per house went up $5,000 to $8,000 in lumber alone,” Hartzell said.

He said plants in the south feel the effect of price changes about four weeks after the market trend is identified. In the midwest, it’s been more like eight weeks.

“And some parts of the industry iron that out, so we may not even see all of that run-up, in the plant, but it’s still a big number,” Hartzell said.

Timber futures are difficult to analyze much less to predict correctly, and the continuing backlog of home orders likely will require manufacturers to order lumber and other materials at full tilt regardless.

Boor said the cost of lumber typically stays relatively low into December before rising through January and into February. But given the market disruptions in 2020, annual market trends are anything given.

“We think about it a lot and make decisions based on the best information, but tend to not speculate on the direction of prices,” Boor said. “We will increase inventory targets if and when we are worried about actually being able to get a given material, but are less likely to base our decisions on pricing.”

Three Things We’ve Learned or Will Learn from COVID-19

By
John Ace Underwood
-
Underwood sales lessons learned during COVID
john ace underwood sales lessons learned covid
John Ace Underwood

Depending on what part of the country you’re conducting business in, the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have had a fairly broad range of impact on your business climate. In some parts of the country, this virus has created havoc, in other areas it seems to have had a lesser impact. On a more personal level, for some this has proved to be tragic while for others it’s been an inconvenience.

Regardless of our individual circumstance, we all have to eventually seek out how the pandemic has permanently changed consumer behavior, and what we can all learn from this rather destructive and unfortunate life lesson.

Sales Lessons Learned from Operating During COVID

Perhaps the biggest impact this pandemic has had on our everyday life are the state-to-state orders requiring people to remain in their homes. For some it’s been a matter of weeks, others it’s extended into months of relative isolation. Bottom line, more people have become better at using their computer to investigate, research, shop, and buy the product or services they are considering.

Second, while many of them didn’t pull the trigger and actually BUY the product and services they were looking for, consumers certainly spent more time investigating and doing their homework. If you were in the market for a new boat before the pandemic, while you may have delayed buying a boat, the desire to own a boat and the opportunity to shop online didn’t go away.

So, what do we learn from this situation? Here are three things you have to learn and understand. These lessons are life lessons that are unlikely to go away.

1. Never Underestimate the Power of the Internet again!

Your website, along with your customer’s ability to FIND your website is more important than it was even three months ago. Your potential buyers have been searching for a community and researching homes via the internet for months. For months they have been visiting and revisiting websites in search of their “ideal” place. The question now is, did they spend more time on your site or your competitor’s site? If your website isn’t generating more leads than you need to sell all of the homes and lease all of the spaces you have available, the answer is they were spending more time on someone else’s site. That needs to be fixed.

2. Never underestimate the Power of Immediacy and Frequency

Immediacy refers to how quickly you respond to an inquiry and frequency refers to how often you try to reach out to the prospective customer. In your business, if you don’t know, you already have a problem. Immediacy, in today’s world, is measured in minutes, not weeks, days, or even hours. Frequency requires not one or two attempts, but something closer to the double digits, six of which need to be in the first 48 hours. Let me also suggest that without an effective Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system this will be impossible to measure. And that which you cannot measure, you cannot improve.

3. Never Underestimate the Power of a Personal Relationship!

The person who builds a personal (as opposed to a business) relationship with the prospective buyer first almost always wins. This is being proven over and over again. While technology may give the potential customer quicker access to a world of information, it is also a world of autoresponders, automatically generated e-mails, impersonal contacts, and emotional emptiness. Finding a community or a home is as much an emotional decision as it is financial. If not more so. The sooner you can reach out to the potential customer in a personal manner, and a personal relationship is built, the more likely that prospective customer will be sitting in front of your desk instead of spending time with your competitor.

So, there you have it. These are three powerful lessons that will either be learned from COVID-19 or they will be confirmed by COVID-19.

Either way, implement these lessons into your business and you will be handsomely rewarded. Failing to do so will likely have a far greater impact on your bottom line than you would ever care to admit.

Hollywood Backlot Homes Makes Good Use of Opportunity Zone

By
Patrick Revere
-
opportunity zone hollywood backlot homes

New Manufactured Home Community in North Hollywood

manufactured home community opportunity zone
Hollywood Backlot Homes is being developed in one of California’s more than 800 approved opportunity zones.

A new community called Hollywood Backlot Homes leveraged federal Opportunity Zone funding to offer single to three-bedroom homes for residents to get “the neighborhood you’re looking for at the price you want”.

Opportunity Zones have been in existence since April 9, 2018. They allow investors and developers in any of the 8,700 designated areas across the country to defer capital gains and net 1231 gains through 2026. Deferred gains must be put in a Qualified Opportunity Fund and reinvested in the property within a reasonable amount of time.

Additionally, Opportunity Zones offer a 10% to 15% federal tax exemption on those gains if the developer or investor maintains ownership of the property for three to five years, respectively.

Hollywood Backlot Homes is developed in a zone in North Hollywood, one of 879 “distressed” areas within California alone. Multi-Opp, LLC, the development company for the property, received a $36 million bridge loan from 3650 REIT for the acquisition and redevelopment of the 10-acre manufactured home community aimed at fulfilling the demand for attainable housing in Los Angeles.

There are Opportunity Zones in each of the 50 U.S. states, as well as in Washington, D.C. and U.S. territories. Each can nominate underutilized or distressed tracts of land for the federal designation. An Opportunity Zone map with property listings and frequently asked questions can be found on the IRS website.

Community Named to Celebrate Nearby Film Studios

opportunity zone affordable housing
New factory-built homes for rent in a new development that uses Opportunity Zone incentives.

North Hollywood’s association with the film studios and production inspired the “backlot” name. Hollywood Backlot Homes is a rental community with 140 HUD-code homes marketed as luxury apartments. Amenities include a gated entry, outdoor pool, clubhouse, gym, gaming center, dog run, grill pavilion, and outdoor lounge.

Monthly rental pricing for the homes ranges from $1,800 to $2,495.

The community’s attainable price points relative to the area will allow renters to enjoy the privacy and extra space of a detached single-family home. The community currently is in development with new amenities and homes.

Multi-Opp, LLC Co-founder Mauricio Oberfeld said the all rental concept in an identified zone is the perfect match.

“We believe this project embodies the true goal of the Opportunity Zone legislation, to encourage investment, housing, and job creation,” Oberfeld said. “When we discovered the Hollywood Backlot Homes property, we immediately realized it would be the perfect property to launch our detached multifamily rental concept, where renters can enjoy all the benefits of a class A multifamily asset while living in a detached residential environment with attainable rents.”

The U.S. Economic Development Administration and Opportunity Zones

The EDA offers funding through competitive grants to foster job creation and attract private investment to support development in economically distressed areas of the United States.

The administration encourages its economic development partners to think of Opportunity Zone investment as “a new arrow in the quiver” to not only enhance ROI for business interests, but also to encourage the public/private partnerships needed to drive private investment to distressed areas.

Emphasis on Opportunity

  • In FY18, EDA issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity that made Opportunity Zones eligible for funding from EDA, through its special needs category, even if the area would not meet EDA’s economic distress criteria.
  • In June 2019, EDA added Opportunity Zones as one of its five Investment Priorities to help significantly increase the number of catalytic Opportunity Zone-related projects we can fund.
  • As part of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council (WHORC), EDA provides an overview of our role in the initiative at Opportunity Zone roundtables that are bringing together local elected officials, business leaders, community groups, and others across the country.

Datacomp Publishes October JLT Manufactured Home Community Reports for Six Midwest States

By
Patrick Revere
-
Datacomp communities in illinois JLT Oct 2020

Datacomp has published its October 2020 JLT Reports for mobile home rent comps, occupancy, and other vital data from manufactured home communities in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and Wisconsin.

JLT Market Reports provide detailed research and information on communities in 185 housing markets throughout the United States. These include the latest rent trends and statistics, marketing programs, and a variety of other useful management insights.

Datacomp maintains and provides the JLT Market Reports and is the nation’s #1 provider of market data for the manufactured housing industry. JLT Market Reports are recognized as the industry standard for manufactured home community market analysis.

The October 2020 manufactured housing market data published in JLT Market Reports for the six states include information from 13 markets on 317 “All ages” and “55+” manufactured home communities.

Altogether, the reports from the six states’ manufactured home communities include data representations for 80,243  homesites.

Regional Trends in Manufactured Housing Community Rent
  • Midwest region manufactured home communities show a year-over-year 5.4% increase in rent for retirement communities and a 3.6% increase for all-ages communities.
  • Midwest region manufactured home communities show a year-over-year 1.2% increase in occupancy for retirement communities and a 1.4% increase for all-ages communities.

“Within the 13 manufactured home community reports published in October 2020, one area shows a  decrease in occupancy, and one other market had a small year-over-year dip in average rent,” Datacomp Co-President and Chief Business Development Officer Darren Krolewski said. “Also among the October JLT reports is a new publication in Kentucky for the Lexington and Fayette area, with nine new communities and more than 2,000 homesites represented.”

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

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 October 2020 rents and occupancy rates to October 2019, as well as a historical recap of rents and occupancy from 1996 to the present date in most markets.

The October 2020 JLT Market Reports for Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and Wisconsin 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.

Patrick Industries: A Decade to Remember

By
Patrick Revere
-
Patrick Industries a decade to remember woodshop
Patrick Industries is an Elkhart, Ind.-based supplier to the manufactured housing industry.

In September of 2010, Elkhart, Ind.-based Patrick Industries was a 50-year-old company with a stellar reputation for manufacturing and distributing a long list of building products and materials to multiple industries including manufactured housing.

The company had enjoyed slow, steady growth. Like nearly every other industry and sector, the Great Recession took a toll. Patrick Industries survived, and it was staring in the face of a grand resurgence in RV and recreational boating, as well as a doubling of the manufactured housing industry.

Trading on the NASDAQ 10 years ago, investors picked up PATK shares for 94 cents apiece. Those same shares today are valued in the neighborhood of $64, growth of more than 4,600%. In the ’10s, Patrick Industries took its place in the eyes of Wall Street among the better-known decade darlings like Amazon, Tesla, Netflix, and Dominoes.

An investor who put $4,000 into Patrick Industries 10 years ago would have made $270,000 on that investment alone. During that time the company grew to more than 8,000 employees, acquired more than 40 businesses, and reached annual sales of $2.3 billion.

Still, there have been few headlines of Patrick Industries’ remarkable success, partially because investors and those who cover the Street focus on “large caps”, companies that start at $10 billion or better. A decade ago, PATK was a “small cap” at $22.3 million. By 2020 that valuation hit $1.2 billion. As the Elkhart company was powering through 4,600% growth the entirety of the S&P 500 increased 200% in the market surge.

It certainly was a decade to remember.

Patrick Industries a decade to remember manufactured home

Elkhart Executives Maintain Growth Focus

The Elkhart executives, Todd Cleveland and Andy Nemeth, who led Patrick Industries through the phenomenal decade of growth have preferred and likely benefited from the low-profile success.

In remarks during an earnings announcement and investor call at the close of the decade, Nemeth spoke of the quarter and the strong annual results with nary a word about the successes of previous years.

“We are pleased with our fourth quarter and full-year performance, especially in light of the volatility experienced in all of our primary markets,” Nemeth stated. “Our team’s efforts reflect tremendous focus on executing on strategic initiatives across all of our end markets, driving operational efficiencies and cost reductions to optimize and position our cost structure for 2020, leveraging synergies from new acquisitions and across our business units, and delivering market share gains. While our leisure lifestyle markets, comprised of RV and marine, continued to feel the impact of reductions in wholesale unit production levels to better align with retail demand, our housing and industrial markets exhibited positive momentum as we finished 2019.”

True, RV demand began to level as manufactured housing output increased nine out of the 10 years. Within Patrick Industries’ business mix, manufactured housing contributes on a recent annual average about 17 percent to corporate revenue.

How Patrick Industries Handled the COVID-19 Shutdowns

It certainly looked as though the only thing that could slow down the Elkhart company’s growth would be a global pandemic. When COVID-19 precautions began rolling out in mid-March, production slowed and stock tumbled to $19.43 per share in mid-March. It took a matter of weeks to double its value and has been trading above $60 again since mid-July.

Patrick Industries a decade to remember RV industry“We are pleased with our operating and financial performance during the second quarter and the tremendous flexibility and adaptability of our team as we navigated significant uncertainty and production shutdowns in both our leisure lifestyle and housing and industrial markets,” Nemeth said. “In particular, the RV industry experienced a five-week production shutdown, while various marine OEMs had production shutdowns ranging from one to five weeks. Our team took quick, disciplined, and focused actions to reduce our fixed cost structure to align with our revenue stream starting at the end of the first quarter and during the second quarter.”

Patrick Industries was able to avoid potential harm from COVID-19 measures and worked toward solidifying its operations to address ongoing uncertainty related to the pandemic, Nemeth said.

Again, rising demand in all major markets buoyed the company from its short-lived pandemic dip. In the latter half of the second quarter, buyers looked at recreational vehicles and boating as safe alternatives to flying. And the manufactured housing market rose to near-2019 levels, largely with consumers either looking to downsize or move from apartments to single-family living.

“We expect this momentum to continue into the second half of 2020,” Nemeth said in a recent investor call. “Additionally, we believe that the continued resilience and subsequent surge in retail demand in these markets have further reduced dealer inventories from what we believe were already at a low point heading into the 2020 selling season.”

Select List of Patrick Industries Brand Names

  • Adorn hardwood doors
  • AIA Countertops
  • Aluminum Metals
  • Baymont basins, enclosures, tilework
  • Cana Cabinetry
  • Collins & Company
  • Creative Wood Designs
  • Decor lamination and overlay
  • Dehco building materials
  • Frontline Manufacturing
  • Gustafson Lighting
  • LaSalle Bristol building products
  • LMI glass products
  • Middlebury Hardwood Products
  • Nickell Moulding Company
  • North American Forest Products
  • North American Moulding
  • Patrick Distribution
  • Praxis Group surfaces and furniture
  • Premier Concepts premium countertops
  • Quest Audio

Visit MHInsider for more manufactured housing news and information.

1...525354...98Page 53 of 98

EVENTS

manufactured housing industry events factory tours education rvmh hall of fame elkhart

2026 MH FacTOURy Summit Opens Registration

Attendee registration is now open for this year’s MH FacTOURy Summit, the annual two-day event hosted at the RV/MH Hall of Fame, from Aug....
hall of fame elkhart mh rv

Introducing the 2026 RV/MH Hall of Fame Inductees

Aug. 17 Induction Dinner in Elkhart to Honor Five from Each Industry In August, the RV/MH Hall of Fame will celebrate the 2026 class of...
MHI CE expo hall vegas manufactured housing meeting

Manufactured Housing Industry Convenes in Las Vegas for MHI’s 2026 Congress and Expo

More than 1,500 manufactured housing professionals are expected in Las Vegas April 7-9 as the Manufactured Housing Institute’s Congress and Expo returns to the...
Load more