For Manufactured Home Owners or Affordable Housing Seekers, Encouraging Understanding and Solutions with Facts and Honest Experiences – Leading Others by Example
Affordable housing is in a well-documented crisis and the causes for the housing crisis are well known. Articles on this site provide documented evidence, third-party research, and other insights that explain why pre-HUD Code mobile homes and post-HUD Code manufactured homes are the runaway most proven source of permanent affordable housing in the United States. The latest site data for our primary (there are two) cPanels serving ManufacturedHomeLivingNews.com (MHLivingNews.com) indicates that the average visitor here experiences 14.28 page views per visit. Compared to CNN (in July 2023 reported 2.35 pageviews per avg. visit) or Fox News (3.96 pageviews per avg. visit), visitor engagement here is far greater, per SimilarWeb’s data for those sites. Note that both of those sites are giants compare to us, they get far more total visitors and thus far more total pageviews. But in terms of engagement by visitors as measured by pageviews per visit, they pale in comparison – 14.28 pageviews on MHLivingNews vs. 2.35 on CNN or 3.96 on Fox. There is no need for mindreading to realize that when someone comes to this site, for whatever reason, they are finding information that they find interesting and relevant.
That said, something that MHLivingNews was established to support and encourage is a better understanding of modern manufactured homes and how a manufactured home may be a good option for you, someone you know, or for potentially millions of affordable housing seekers.
A few months ago, MHLivingNews encouraged visitors and regular readers here to consider becoming a storyteller. It frankly wasn’t one of the most popular articles in our recent check of ‘what’s hot’ as measured by most-read (see further below). With that admission, let’s try again to encourage readers like you to share your insights and experiences. While we look forward to tips, insights, and various shares from readers (to email, click this link here) and visitors, we also want to encourage housing seekers and mobile or manufactured home owners to share their experiences with others via letters to the editor and posted comments on mainstream media.
Sometimes, examples are the best way to encourage others. With that in mind, this writer personally carved out some time this week to do two posts on mainstream media via the local Patch.com. Previously, this writer has also submitted comments that were published on mainstream and specialty news sites. Of course, most anyone can share views via social media. But one reason to use letters to the editor or a free resource like Patch.com is because a wider audience may be reached.
Why Bother?
In a op-ed style article published on the Tampa Free Press, this writer explained that someone can buy a new manufactured home for about half the cost of buying a similar sized conventional house.
But the flip side of that remark is illustrated in this quotable quote.
“Right now, in almost no market in this country, can a homebuilder build a house that is affordable for a first-time homebuyer,” said National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) CEO Jerry Howard on “Varney & Co.” How added: “We can’t do it. The costs that are on us [as house builders] make it impossible.”
Meaning, the affordable housing crisis can’t be solved by conventional ‘site builders’ or ‘stick builders.’ That’s not a hit on those who build conventional houses or apartments. It is simply reality. NAHB’s Howard said so.
It’s a crying shame that umbrella style trade associations in the U.S. that are supposed to be serving manufactured housing are failing to properly, effectively, and repeatedly express those point.
It has been almost a year since MHLivingNews reported what USA Today said. Namely that so many younger people are so frustrated by the housing market that they are increasingly thinking that housing ‘is a scam.’ They think the system is rigged.
HUD’s researchers have made that point without using the phrase ‘rigged.” Pamela Blumenthal and Regina Gray made the evidence based case that politicians have been talking about the affordable housing crisis for 50 years. The causes and solutions are known. A key part of the solution must be modern manufactured homes.
If you own a manufactured home, think about sharing your experiences by signing up to post via the Patch. Once you posted, feel free to send us that post and we’ll gladly consider sharing your experiences with our readers.
If you don’t own a manufactured home, but would like to see local or federal officials do a better job of making affordable manufactured housing more available, please do the same. Set up an account on the Patch, and once you have signed up (free) and posted, send it to us. Make sure you read the Patch community guidelines and stick by their rules.
Once you have posted, send us a link to your post and email us the text in the body of your email.
There are few, perhaps none alive today that have worked in, lived in, researched, and then written about manufactured home related issues as much as this writer. That’s simply a reality. I can tell you from experience, the more you write and publish, the easier it gets.
Politicians want to know what voters and citizens are thinking. Few issues are as important as affordable housing. There are numerous reasons for you to add your voice to these issues. When we can, we will seek to amplify the thoughts of readers like you who write about affordable manufactured housing.
Closing Thoughts and More Reading
Because visitors like you decide what matters most from your perspective, among the hundreds and hundreds of articles found on this Mobile and Manufactured Home Living News website, some are more popular than others. Sometimes people watch or listen to a program, or read a news or social media item, and they ‘google’ a subject that brings them to ManufacturedHomeLivingNews.com (MHLivingNews.com).
We post about once a week here, but more than daily on the MHProNews.com sister site. So there are more pages there, and more visits there too. But there are more pageviews per visit here, even though MHProNews also is far superior in engagement as measured by pageviews per visit on MHProNews CNN or Fox News. For August 2023, the following were the top 30 articles. In essence, these are the readers choice. Note that some of these reports were published months or even years ago, but are still popular with new and returning visitors.
We are all either part of the problem or part of the solution to the U.S. affordable housing crisis. Or as my beloved bride and MHLivingNews co-founder Soheyla Kovach said, “Northing is changed until it is challenged. ” ##
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All on Capitol Hill were welcoming and interested in the discussion of manufactured housing-related issues in our 12.3.2019 meetings. But Texas Congressman Al Green’s office was tremendous in their hospitality. Our son’s hand is on a package that included a copy of the Constitution of the United States and other goodies. MHLivingNews and MHProNews has worked with people and politicos across the left-right divide.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing. For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com. This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position, and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
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