The Kentucky Manufactured Housing Institute (KMHI), a trade association, represents manufactured and modular home retailers, manufacturers, service and supply companies, manufactured home community owners and operators, insurance, certified installers, finance, and transport companies. The manufactured and modular housing industry is a provider of safe, affordable, and comfortable housing for Kentuckians of all ages, races, educational levels, ethnic backgrounds, and income levels. 

KMHI members represent a vast cross-section of business and development that benefits cities, counties, and consumers. The industry creates a ripple effect in Kentucky's economy with sales and purchases of products, goods, and services. 

A manufactured home is a single-family residential dwelling constructed after June 16,1976, in accordance with the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1976, as amended (HUD Code). The HUD Code undergoes annual review and updates to enhance the manufactured home's structural design, safety, and construction standards and is recognized by the Kentucky Building Code, as well as state and local codes across the nation. 

A "Qualified manufactured home" (SB 197) means a manufactured home that meets all of the following criteria:

• Is manufactured on or after July 15, 2002

• Is affixed to a permanent foundation and is connected to the appropriate
  facilities and is installed in compliance with KRS 227.570

• Has a width of at least twenty (20) feet at its smallest width measurement or is two (2) stories in height and oriented on the lot or parcel so that its main entrance door faces the street

• Has a minimum total living area of nine hundred (900) square feet

• Is not located in a manufactured home land-lease community.

A modular home is a single-family residential dwelling constructed in accordance with the Kentucky Residential Building Code or the Industrialized Systems Code.

How Does the Manufactured and Modular Housing Industry Contribute to Kentucky's Economy?

• Estimated annual impact on Kentucky's economy is over $379,900,000. 

• Estimated sales tax paid by manufactured home dealers
  on new home sales in Kentucky during the past year is over $22,000,000, plus the millions of sales tax dollars paid by dealers on previously owned homes sold and paid by service and supply companies for service, appliances, etc.

• Approximate size of Kentucky's manufactured housing industry:
  185 Active retail dealers with over 1000 employees
  120 Transport and Certified Installer firms with 300 employees
  117 Service firms with 200 employees
  44 Parts and supply firms with 140 employees
  91 Lenders with 300 employees
  4 Manufacturers with 400 employees
  1,500 Communities with 4,400 employees

• Two manufactured housing plants are located in Kentucky. In addition, approximately 62 out-of-state manufacturers ship homes to Kentucky dealers.

Census Data & Typical Cost Factors (Statistics provided by Kentucky State Data Center, Kentucky Department of Transportation, MHI, and NCS/BCS-HBT)

• Number of Kentuckians living in manufactured and mobile homes located in all 120 counties: 560,000 (estimate).

• Number of manufactured homes located in Kentucky: 240,000 (estimate).

• Typical terms for manufactured home loans:
  - New homes 5%-10% down payment with terms up to 30 years can be purchased as a land and home package with a real estate mortgage.
  - Previously owned homes 5%-10% down payment with terms up to 25 years. In many cases where land is owned by the homeowner, homes are sold as real property and a real estate mortgage can be obtained. (actual terms will vary from lender to lender.

• In-state and out-of-state manufacturers produced 6,700 manufactured homes for in-state and out-of-state shipments to Kentucky retail dealers. Kentucky ranks 9th in the nation among all states. Kentucky's in-state manufacturers produced over 2,400 homes during the past year.

• Share of the market of manufactured homes: Almost 25% of all homes in the state are manufactured and mobile homes. Manufactured home shipments on the average represent 31% of the total number of residential building permits issued for new homes in Kentucky during the past year.

• Typical sale price of a new single-section manufactured home: $30,700.

• Typical sale price of a new multi-section manufactured home: $55,100.

• Typical sale price for all sizes of new manufactured homes: $48,800.

• The average cost of construction of manufactured homes is about $34 per square foot as compared to approximately $60 per square foot for comparable site-built homes. 

• Floor plans are available for homes of 900 to over 3,000-plus sq. ft. 

• Median monthly housing cost for manufactured home owners is about $330 as compared to $450 for apartment renters. Monthly cost for site-built homeowners is more than $650. 

Who Buys Manufactured Housing?

AGE OF OWNERS: 8% under 30, 18% 30-39, 19% 40-49, 19% 50-59, and 36% 60+ years of age.

HOUSEHOLD INCOME: Purchasers' median household income is $26,900. Income ranges from $9,000 (10%) to $50,000 and over+ (15%).

OCCUPATION: 57% full-time, 7% part-time, 29% retired, and 7% other, such as armed forces, students and unskilled laborers. Owners are professionals, tradesman, service-type workers, young, first-time homebuyers, as well as retired persons.