“Few stereotypes are as well entrenched — and wrongheaded — as the perception of mobile homes as the marginal housing choice of the destitute and downtrodden.”
Andrea Levere, the president of CFED (the Corporation for Enterprise Development), came out swinging with that opening remark on an opinion piece she wrote this weekend.
She continued to articulate that manufactured homes are a key solution to the affordable housing issues most states, including Oregon, face:
“In America today, about 18 million people live in factory-built “manufactured homes.” They are disproportionately low-income, with a median annual household income of $30,000. That makes manufactured housing the largest source of unsubsidized affordable housing in the nation. When well built and maintained, mobile homes can appreciate in value like any home and are half the price of standard “site-built” homes.”
As you may remember, the Housing Alliance worked through some stalemates to introduce HB 4038 last legislative session. And Ms. Levere’s remarks got us pumped up to think about this issues for next session.
We’re not exactly sure how it will shake out, but Neighborhood Partnerships Executive Director Janet Byrd says:
“Generally, we’ll be looking for new resources to help homeowners replace old manufactured homes, additional resources to preserve existing parks and make needed infrastructure and home repairs, use of modular construction to speed construction and reduce costs.”