2025 outlook upbeat for Texas housing manufacturers despite cooler February

COLLEGE STATION – The February 2025 Texas Manufactured Housing Survey (TMHS) continues to signal a strong 2025 but with a later start than usual for the spring buying season.  

Floors sold per day declined by the widest margin the survey has recorded for February after moving up for one month in January. Floor production followed suit, moving lower for the second straight month. Manufacturers still expect significant increases in both categories over the next six months.  

General business activity was also negative—marking another first for a February—with a value of -40, but it registered an even wider value over last month for activity to get better over the next two quarters. 

Company outlooks and capital expenditure spending leveled off for the month with current sentiment less positive than last month but with continued expectations for more activity and spending by mid-year. 

Average employee workweeks were essentially unchanged from last month, although the number of employees declined. While workweeks are expected to increase just slightly six months out, expectations for the number of employees are still high. The added demand for labor ahead could be the reason survey participants expected increases in future labor costs.  

Outlook uncertainty dropped from last month. Uncertainty expectations also retreated somewhat, although were still slightly positive. Regulatory burden, down from last month, still showed high expectations for an increase six months out. 

“The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced in February an extension to the effective date of the new 2025 HUD-Code requirements from March 17 to Sept. 15, 2025,” said Rob Ripperda, vice president of operations for the Texas Manufactured Housing Association (TMHA). “The announcement came right as the TMHS survey window opened, and you can see the extension lowering the amount of regulatory burden manufacturers were under moving from February into March. They will continue to incorporate these code updates into their homes over the next six months under the now more reasonable implementation timeline.” 

Expectations for prices paid for raw materials and prices received for finished homes increased from last month’s already elevated levels.  

“Although President Trump’s tariff plans are not yet set in stone, he seems to be indicating that their level and duration may be higher and longer than those implemented in his first term,” said Harold Hunt, PhD., research economist at the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University (TRERC). “Spot lumber prices have yet to reflect much of an increase. However, if tariffs are levied on all components imported from Canada and Mexico used in manufactured home construction along with products such as steel, appliances, sheetrock, fixtures and faucets, price increases could be inevitable.” 

The TMHS monthly sentiment survey gauges current conditions and expectations surrounding Texas’ manufactured housing industry. All TMHA members with manufacturing facilities in the state are invited to participate, and the survey panel represents 94 percent of HUD-code homes produced in Texas. The survey was created by TRERC, who administers it and calculates the responses.