Here’s an idea that could mean the difference between a family wanting a new home on their own lot and people actually doing it.
Amid a significant shortage of affordable housing in New Hampshire, the Southwest Region Planning Commission and N.H. Community Loan Fund have partnered to highlight the value of resident-owned manufactured home communities, which they say could help increase the area housing stock and in turn bolster the local workforce.
The two groups recently hosted a bus tour, inviting community members, business owners, and real estate agents to see two resident-owned communities (ROCs) in the Monadnock Region and hear from people who live there.
Headquartered in Keene, SWRPC is one of nine regional planning agencies, serving 34 communities and promoting regional coordination across realms such as transportation infrastructure, the labor force and housing, according to its website.
The Community Loan Fund is a Concord nonprofit that, per its website, provides loans and other capital assistance to people in the state who are underserved.
The average manufactured home in the state costs $100,000, according to Tara Reardon, vice president of ROC-NH and external relations at the Community Loan Fund. The median home price in Cheshire County is $271,000.
Reardon said these homes are built indoors in factories and have a steel frame. Manufactured homes make up seven percent of the single-family housing market in New Hampshire.
There are 145 ROCs in New Hampshire, encompassing around 9,000 households.
