March through August are typically the peak buying months. But this year , Americans bought fewer new homes in that stretch than in any other six-month period since record-keeping commenced fifty years ago. And sales of previously occupied homes didn’t fare much better . They nearly matched 2009′s total for the peak buying months. And that was the worst since 1997. Combined, total sales this spring and summer were the weakest on records dating back to 1963. The figures underscore how badly the housing market is really doing and suggest that the projected recovery is years away.
The only area of home sales that looks to be showing any growth at all is that of factory-built homes. Manufactured home sales continue to rise, in contrast to the sad numbers of traditionally-built property sales. Many factors may be contiributing to this shift in consumer housing choices, but the economy is surely the leading trigger.
Because the economy is barely growing and unemployment exceeds 9 percent , many families see a traditional house purchase as too risky . Some worry about the risk of being laid off . Others can’t afford the 20 percent downpayment that most lenders are now requiring . Not even reduced home prices and the lowest mortgage rates in six decades are convincing potential buyers. But as buyers are pausing to really think through their good reasons for buying homes, and consider the best options for their families in the long-term , manufactured homes are showing a surge in purchases as buyers turn to manufactured homes as a more cost-effective investment in this troubled market .
Michael McGrew, who runs McGrew Real Estate in Lawrence, Kansas , said many families won’t buy until the economy improves . Even in Lawrence, which had a low unemployment rate of 6.4 percent in July and is home to the University of Kansas, people are worried, he said. What would help most would be a relocated company hiring in the Lawrence area, McGrew says. But hopes for the housing market to turn about soon are slim, he said. “We’re actually seeing more people downsizing or trading out of this market completely,” McGrew said.
Throughout the nation , prices are still falling. Prices for previously occupied houses have sunk more than 5 percent over the past year to a median of $168,300. New-home prices have fallen even further, by 7.7% , to $209,100. But even at those lower prices, traditional homes, whether they be new or previously occupied , cannot compete against the amazing low price per square foot of brand new factory built homes, and the buyers now know it.
Factory Direct Cedar Cabin Homes
That suggests builders and realtors are slashing prices to compete with low-priced short sales and foreclosures , as well as manufactured homes. Combined, short sales and foreclosures are selling at an average 20% discount. And they’re lowering neighboring home values. Manufactured homes, on the other hand , are now recognized to typically improve a neighborhood’s home values because of the benefit of modern construction materials and techniques which allow these homes to go up next door without showing any difference in the quality of construction compared to the traditionally built properties nearby.
Manufactured Home Floor Plan Search
As economists make dire predictions that it will take longer than expected for the housing market to recover, home buyers are reaping the benefits in a more affordable traditional housing market, as well as this boom in manufactured housing that shifts our focus away from overpriced cookie-cutter suburbs and allows buyers to create a low cost custom-built home all their own at far below the cost of a traditional property, whether it be previously occupied or brand new .
