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Manufactured‑housing industry warns DOE rule could erode affordability; asks FHFA/GSEs to prioritize factory‑built homes
Summary
The Manufactured Housing Institute told FHFA that a Department of Energy efficiency rule—if applied using site‑built standards—could add roughly $5,000 per home and urged the GSEs to expand programs for manufactured, cross‑mod and personal‑property lending.
Representatives of the Manufactured Housing Institute told FHFA that applying Department of Energy efficiency rules using site‑built construction standards risks making modern manufactured homes substantially more expensive and jeopardizing their role as the nation’s most affordable ownership option.
Lesie Gu, chief executive of the Manufactured Housing Institute, said the industry supports energy efficiency but asked that HUD retain jurisdiction over manufactured‑home construction standards and that DOE and HUD coordinate on rules adapted for factory construction. She asserted DOE's rule could add "at a minimum $5,000 to the average cost of a new manufactured home." The speaker requested that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac expand support for manufactured inventories, include single‑section homes in cross‑mod programs, and develop purchase and securitization approaches for personal‑property (chattel) loans, which she said represent roughly 70% of the market.
Why it matters: Manufactured homes are a large segment of attainable home ownership. Stakeholders warned that higher construction‑related costs and misaligned regulatory standards would reduce supply and uptake, especially for lower‑income buyers who rely on manufactured housing.
Quote: "DOE's rule would have the effect of negatively impacting the availability of affordable manufactured homes ... add at a minimum $5,000 to the average cost of a new manufactured home," the industry representative said. The speaker also urged Congress and HUD to restore exclusive HUD jurisdiction over manufactured housing standards.
Next steps: Industry groups asked FHFA and the Enterprises to incorporate manufactured housing into Equitable Housing Finance activities and to review loan‑level price adjustment data for manufactured housing products; FHFA did not announce regulatory changes during the session.
