by Calculated Risk on 3/22/2012 01:34:00 PM

This is something I rarely mention, since manufactured homes is a very small category of residential investment (the largest categories are new single family homes, home improvement, brokers' commissions, and new multifamily).

However it appears activity for manufactured homes is coming off the bottom too. The Census Bureau reported that shipments in January were at a 60 thousand Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR), up 33% from 45 thousand (SAAR) in January 2011.


Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows shipments of manufactured homes. The spike in 2005 was related to Hurricane Katrina.

There were a record low number of manufactured home placements in 2011 (46 thousand) and it appears that this category will increase in 2012. Of course this is a very small part of the economy.