HUD launches a first-of-its-kind federal funding opportunity of $225 million, alongside financing enhancements, to support owners of manufactured homes, ensure affordability, and revitalize communities.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is announcing today a sweeping set of new actions that will increase the availability and affordability of manufactured homes, through new opportunities that support residents of manufactured homes and manufactured housing communities, including those that are resident-owned.
Manufactured housing is a central component of the Biden-Harris Administration’s strategy to increase housing supply and lower housing costs. These actions, announced in today’s White House Fact Sheet, reinforce the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing commitment to furthering manufactured homes as an affordable option for Americans to obtain safe and stable housing through HUD programs administered by its Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD), and Ginnie Mae.
“Manufactured housing offers a proven solution to America’s affordable housing supply crisis,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “Today’s actions bring us one step closer to a future where everyone has access to housing that meets their needs.”
Today, HUD launches the Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) Program, a first-of-its-kind federal funding opportunity to preserve and revitalize manufactured housing and manufactured housing communities. The $225 million competitive grant program provides resources to support residents of manufactured housing through repairs and rehabilitation of homes, replacement of dilapidated units, infrastructure upgrades such as water, sewer, utilities or broadband, improvements to increase community resilience in the face of extreme weather, planning activities to support manufactured housing communities, and services for homeowners including housing and mobility counseling, eviction prevention, and activities that support resident-owned management structures. Funding is available to States, local jurisdictions, Tribes, tribal partners, nonprofits, community development finance institutions (CDFIs), and other eligible entities.
“Across the country, twenty-two million people call manufactured housing their homes,” said Marion McFadden, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development. “Today, I am delighted to make funding available for their unique needs. PRICE funding will enable manufactured homes and communities to remain affordable, safe, and sustainable for years to come.”
Additionally, to complement the PRICE grant funding announced today, FHA has also posted a new draft policy for public feedback which, when finalized, will promote stability and preserve affordability for individuals and families who own manufactured homes sited in existing manufactured home communities. The proposed policy allows resident-owned cooperatives or other mission-oriented borrowers, including non-profits, Tribal entities, and governmental entities, to access FHA-insured financing under its Multifamily 223(f) program to purchase or refinance manufactured home communities. With this new flexibility, borrowers will have additional options that could preserve a community through new ownership, reduce future land rent costs, and finance needed community improvements. The 223(f) financing can be used in combination with any PRICE grant funding to enhance the impact of both programs for a manufactured housing community.
To support the financing of individual manufactured homes titled as personal property, HUD is also announcing an important update to FHA’s Title I Manufactured Home Loan Program. With this update, FHA is announcing new methodologies for calculating the loan limits allowed under this program so that they are commensurate with current market pricing for manufactured homes, making it viable for buyers of manufactured housing and the lenders who serve them. HUD expects that new loan limits will incentivize more lenders to participate in the program and expand usage of the program by borrowers to finance a manufactured home. Title I financing can be used to purchase or refinance a manufactured home titled as personal property, a lot where a manufactured home will be installed, or both the manufactured home and the lot on which it will be installed. In addition to the new loan limits calculation methodologies announced today, FHA is also announcing that it will recalculate Title I Manufactured Home Loan Program loan limits on an annual basis so that the loan limits keep pace with home price changes over time.
“Coordinating and aligning this suite of new federal actions serves as a force multiplier to expand the availability and affordability of manufactured homes,” said Julia Gordon, Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner. “FHA’s updated and expanded financing options complement the work of our colleagues in HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development and Ginnie Mae, thereby delivering comprehensive federal support for quality, affordable, manufactured homes in both urban and rural areas.”
Today, Ginnie Mae has also announced a crucial step towards reinvigorating its Title I Loan Securitization program, a critical source of capital for lenders to attain greater liquidity to support manufactured housing supply. In conjunction with FHA’s manufactured housing actions, Ginnie Mae has announced revisions to its financial eligibility requirements for Title I Issuers in order to reduce barriers to entry and increase lender participation in its securitization program for Title I loans. This announcement represents meaningful progress, following Ginnie Mae’s comprehensive review of its Manufactured Housing Program last year.
“Ginnie Mae plays a crucial role in supporting the financing of affordable housing supply, and manufactured housing is an important part of the solution,” said Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo. “We’ve consulted the industry and worked closely with FHA to update and align our Title I eligibility requirements to support more financing in tandem with the vast improvements FHA is making to its program. Today’s announcement marks significant progress in expanding access to the secondary market for more Title I Issuers and deploying more capital for manufactured housing lending going forward.”
These actions build on HUD’s ongoing work to support manufactured housing as part of the Administration’s housing supply and affordability agenda. Earlier this year HUD published a proposed rule for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program that emphasized the importance of considering the needs of manufactured housing communities during local planning processes. HUD also recently updated the CDBG in Support of Housing Activities notice to clarify that communities may use CDBG funds for acquisition of manufactured housing units, services to homeowners of manufactured housing units, and investments in infrastructure and resilience for manufactured housing communities.