Consumers looking to purchase manufactured homes may face higher interest rates, risks and barriers to credit—and minorities are feeling it the most. A new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) report discusses these challenges.
The takeaway:
While manufactured housing or modular homes make up a small segment of the overall real estate housing supply, affordability must be considered.
This type of housing is among the most affordable for low-income consumers and makes up 13% of the housing supply in small and rural towns across the U.S.
The biggest obstacle for housing finance lands on minority groups. Hispanic, Black, African American, American Indian, Alaska natives and elderly borrowers are more likely to take out “chattel” loans.
What it means:
“This report shows the power of the expanded Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data collection to understand the path to homeownership for some of our most vulnerable families, including Black, Indigenous and Hispanic families, as well as rural and lower-income families of all races and ethnicities,” said Acting Director Dave Uejio.
“Much more work needs to be done to understand the options available to these families and how best to help ensure that manufactured housing homeownership can be a path to financial stability for the rural and lower-income families who depend on it,” added Uejio.
The full report is accessible here.
