Simple fixes could unlock more affordable homes

 

The Rundown Manufactured Homes Could Ease the Housing Crunch By encouraging more manufactured homes—factory-built, modern, and often half the cost of traditional site-built houses—the U.S. could vastly increase the number of available and affordable housing options. The challenge: While these houses aren't the trailer homes of the past, they are still treated that way by the laws in most states. Most manufactured homes are classified as personal property, like a car—not as real estate, like a home. That means fewer protections and higher-cost loans. At a recent Pew event, experts called for common-sense fixes:   🏡 Let buyers title homes as real estate to unlock mortgage access. 💵 Modernize federal loan programs for "home-only" buyers—people who finance just the house, not the land. 🛡️ Add protections for the riskier mortgage alternative known as contract financing, an arrangement typically made between a buyer and a seller rather than a lender. Dave Anderson of the National Manufactured Home Owners Association sums it up: "If the financing was improved, it would open the floodgate. … It would make manufactured home buying easier, cheaper, and safer." RECOMMENDATIONS What's the Ideal Age to Have Kids? Marry? Retire? PEW RESEARCH CENTER What are the best ages for life's major milestones? Many say 25 to 34 for getting married or buying a home—but up to half of Americans now say there's no "right" age at all. Views differ by age, income, and politics, with younger adults pushing timelines later. SURVEY RESULTS What Slowing Population Growth Means for States As birthrates fall and residents age, nearly half of U.S. states could face population losses by 2050. The resulting decline in workforces may mean lower tax revenue, just as demand for health care and pensions rise. Now is the time for states to prepare. WHAT'S NEEDED PEW IN THE NEWS One Promising Policy to Fight Opioid Addiction GOVERNING Pew: States Should Collect Data on Utility Poles BROADBAND BREAKFAST 901 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20004-2008 Copyright © 2025 The Pew Charitable Trusts. All Rights Reserved.