I US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Thursday announced that it has awarded $225 million to 17 groups in 26 states as part of its Community Development Preservation and Recovery (PRICE) program that began earlier this year.
The $225 million was originally announced by The White House in February. The funds will go toward “maintaining and rehabilitating manufactured housing communities and manufactured housing (MHCs) across the country, including rural, urban, urban, tribal, and disaster areas,” HUD explained.
“This is a historic investment – as the first federal grant program specifically for rural residents,” said Adrianne Todman, HUD’s acting secretary. “Manufactured homes offer a cost-effective way to own homes for many families. This money builds on HUD’s commitment to improving housing construction and reducing housing costs.”
The Biden administration has talked about manufactured housing as a big part of their plan to increase the housing stock and reduce associated costs across the country.
Recent data shows that although manufactured homes have shown signs of rapid appreciation compared to traditional homes built on the site, the price is still hundreds of thousands of dollars less than traditional single-family homes.
“Funds announced today will support low- and moderate-income homeowners and residents in manufactured units and MHCs with critical investments such as repairs and renovations to existing housing, accessibility improvements, infrastructure improvements, mitigation strategies to increase resilience, resident services including eviction prevention and housing counseling, and transition support “MHCs are located in communities managed by residents,” explained HUD.
The funding will also address the needs of community residents who want to redevelop their existing MHCs, including “replacing aging and inaccessible areas with new affordable housing, expanding existing manufactured housing communities, and acquiring properties to create resident-owned communities,” HUD said.
The department added that the PRICE program was extremely competitive, exceeding expectations for demand.
“Applications were submitted from more than 175 organizations proposing suitable projects that benefit communities in all 43 states, representing a wide variety of people, locations, and community sizes,” the department said. “The successful applicants have demonstrated a commitment to supporting the long-term affordability and sustainability of affordable housing, while deeply engaging community members in their anticipated work.”
ROC USA was the program’s largest beneficiary, with $38.1 million in funding that will impact its communities across 12 states. A complete list of awardees is available in HUD’s announcement.
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