Fannie Mae Indicates Similar Plan for MH Advantage®
Freddie Mac, a government-sponsored entity that provides a secondary market for home loans, announced recently that its CHOICEHome® program will include financing for single-section homes with features that meet a pre-determined criteria.
“Under President Trump, U.S. Federal Housing is committed to delivering affordable homeownership and finding ways to grow our nation’s housing supply,” Freddie Mac Chairman William J. Pulte said. “Modern single-section factory-built homes can offer high-quality alternatives at a lower price point. Freddie Mac’s expansion of the CHOICEHome program helps make more homes accessible to more Americans through the conventional mortgage market.”
Freddie Mac ensures that CHOICEHome financed manufactured homes meet specific construction standards, which include features such as permanent foundations, energy-efficient designs, pitched roofs, attached garages, and enhanced durability and comfort of the home. These features also make for easier integration with existing neighborhoods that include site-built homes, including urban infill.
CHOICEHome mortgage brings conventional loan financing to modern factory-built homes that are built to exceed federal standards called for by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This financing typically offers a more affordable option than traditional site-built homes. The mean price of the newly accepted single-section home is around $200,000, including land in most markets, while a standard single-family site-built home can, on average, exceed $500,000.
MHI Applauds Freddie Mac’s Program Extension
The Manufactured Housing Institute applauded Freddie Mac for expanding its CHOICEHome program to include single-section CrossMod homes as a “pivotal step” toward unlocking greater access to attainable housing nationwide.
CrossMod homes combine the best of on-site and factory construction and have gained popularity in recent years due to the many advantages they offer over conventional manufactured homes. High-end, energy-efficient, and affordable, CrossMod factory-built housing appeals to underserved homebuyers who value homes built to rigorous federal standards for quality, safety, and durability, as well as curb appeal features like pitched roofs and garages. With manufactured homes costing up to 50 percent less per square foot than site-built homes, CrossMods present a compelling path to quality homeownership and are attainable for buyers of nearly every budget.
“Freddie Mac’s inclusion of single-section CrossMod homes in the CHOICEHome program is a meaningful advancement for increasing the supply of attainable housing in the country,” MHI CEO Lesli Gooch said. “These homes are ideally suited for infill development and smaller lots, helping communities meet growing demand with innovative, efficient housing solutions. MHI has consistently advocated for this change, recognizing that expanding financing options for single-section CrossMods will unlock new opportunities for homeownership and support the evolving needs of today’s housing market.”
Freddie Mac’s existing financing options include financing for multi-section factory-built homes with a 3 percent down payment option. As of today, Freddie Mac will include the same financing option for single-section, or single-wide, modern factory-built homes for the first time. Freddie Mac’s counterpart, Fannie Mae, posted to its MH Advantage landing page that plans are underway to include single-section homes in its program as well.
“We join the entire industry in celebrating Freddie Mac’s significant effort to add the single-section home design to their CrossMod mortgage program,” Clayton CEO Kevin Clayton said. “This important update will now provide attainable, energy-efficient homeownership to many more deserving families, helping to make these homes available in established neighborhoods and narrow urban lots.”
Freddie Mac Executive Vice President and Head of Single-Family Acquisition Sonu Mittal said support for modern single-section factory-built homes will play an important role in creating and promoting affordable housing in markets that need additional supply to help first-time homebuyers.
“Lenders can leverage our existing CHOICEHome mortgage offerings to finance these homes, and we are ready to purchase these loans now,” Mittal said.
