The Big New Headline: PRICE Grants for Manufactured Housing

The clearest example of “new HUD money” is a program with a very un-HUD name: PRICE – the Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement.

In February 2024, HUD launched PRICE as a first-of-its-kind competitive funding opportunity dedicated to manufactured housing and MHCs, with up to $225 million on the table. HUD+1

Fast-forward to December 19, 2024: HUD announced it had awarded $225 million in PRICE grants to 17 recipients across 26 states. USA Herald – The People’s Voice+3HUD+3NAHRO+3

What does that money actually pay for?

According to HUD and HUD Exchange, PRICE grants are designed to:

• Preserve long-term affordability in manufactured housing and MHCs

• Revitalize or redevelop aging communities

• Invest in critical infrastructure (water, sewer, roads, electrical)

• Fund repairs, resiliency upgrades, and health/safety improvements

• Support services like eviction prevention and housing counseling

• Help communities transition to resident- or nonprofit-led ownership models

In short: PRICE is built to stabilize and upgrade existing MHCs while keeping them affordable for low- and moderate-income residents. Housing Assistance Council+3HUD+3HUD Exchange+3

For residents, that can look like safer streets, better utilities, new homes replacing substandard ones, and more stable ownership. For owners and operators, it’s a chance to tackle big-ticket capital needs with a partner at the table instead of trying to fund everything from operating income and rent increases.

The Everyday Workhorses: CDBG and Other HUD Block Grants

PRICE is the shiny new thing. But a lot of money flowing into manufactured housing starts with familiar HUD acronyms: CDBG, HOME, and the Housing Trust Fund.

These are HUD’s big formula programs — the funds that go to states, cities, and counties every year and then get deployed locally through housing and community development plans. HUD Exchange+1

Until recently, manufactured housing sat in a gray area for some of those dollars. That’s where recent policy changes matter.

HUD’s updated Community Planning and Development (CPD) notice on using Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for housing activities explicitly encourages communities to use CDBG for:

• Acquisition of manufactured homes

• Homeownership assistance tied to manufactured units

• Rehabilitation and replacement of older manufactured homes

• Infrastructure and resilience investments in MHCs

All while still meeting the core CDBG requirement: primarily benefiting low- and moderate-income residents. HUD+5HUD+5HUD Exchange+5

That might sound technical, but it’s huge. It means:

• A city can use CDBG dollars to help a low-income homeowner replace a failing manufactured home with a new HUD-code unit.

• A county can fund water, sewer, and road upgrades in an MHC where the infrastructure is aging and climate risk is rising.

• A state can layer CDBG with PRICE or other funds to support preservation or resident-purchase of a community.

In practice, you’re already seeing local examples of HUD-backed money reaching manufactured homes — from CDBG-funded repair programs in small towns to energy-efficiency upgrades in mobile and manufactured homes supported by federal Weatherization dollars. Huron Daily Tribune+1

The key insight: CDBG and related HUD block grants used to feel distant from MHCs. Updated guidance is pulling them much closer.

FHA Title I: Loan Programs that Unlock Access

Grants and block funds are one side of the story. The other is loan programs that make it possible for residents to actually buy and improve manufactured homes.

HUD, through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), runs the Title I Manufactured Home Loan Program. Under Title I, FHA insures loans made by approved lenders to finance the purchase or refinancing of a new or used manufactured home – with or without the land underneath it – as well as certain improvements. HUD+2HUD+2

For years, the challenge was simple: the loan limits were too low to reflect real-world costs. In March 2024, HUD announced that FHA is increasing those Title I loan limits for the first time in 15 years, specifically to better match current manufactured home prices and make the program more viable. HUD+2HUD+2

Why does that matter for MHCs?

• It gives more buyers a realistic financing path into a home in an MHC, instead of relying on high-cost chattel loans or cash they don’t have.

• It supports resident stability: if people can finance decent-quality homes, communities see fewer abandoned units and fewer unlivable homes sitting on lots.

• When combined with local down payment assistance, CDBG-funded rehab, or PRICE-funded infrastructure, Title I loans help complete the picture — the home, the lot, and the community all get investment.

HUD has also ramped up housing counseling resources specifically about manufactured home financing, helping buyers understand their options and avoid predatory products. HUD Exchange+1

How the Money Shows Up on the Ground

Taken together, these programs can feel abstract. On the ground, they show up as real, visible change.

A county might use CDBG and PRICE funds to replace failing water and sewer lines in an older MHC, add storm-resilient electrical infrastructure, and repair roads that have been ignored for decades. HUD+2HousingWire+2

A nonprofit could partner with residents to acquire a community where the land is at risk of being flipped, using PRICE dollars and CDBG-backed financing to stabilize ownership and keep the community affordable long-term. HUD Exchange+1

At the individual level, a resident might tap a Title I loan to replace an aging, energy-inefficient home with a new HUD-code unit, while a local program uses HUD-linked funds to cover weatherization or new heating and cooling systems. HUD+2HUD+2

None of this is overnight or simple. But the direction is clear: there is finally a defined channel of federal money aimed at keeping manufactured housing communities safe, habitable, and affordable.

What This Means for Residents, Owners, and Communities

If you live, invest, or operate in this space, HUD’s recent moves change the conversation.

For residents, it means there are more tools in the toolbox to fix aging homes, upgrade utilities, and keep communities livable — especially for low- and moderate-income households. It doesn’t mean every issue is solved, but it does mean the federal government is no longer treating manufactured housing as an afterthought.

For owners and operators, it means that big capital needs don’t always have to translate directly into steep rent increases or deferred maintenance. If you’re willing to navigate the complexity (or partner with someone who can), grant and loan dollars can help fund infrastructure, resilience, and quality-of-life upgrades while keeping communities affordable.

For cities, counties, and states, manufactured housing is now firmly on HUD’s radar as part of the housing supply solution. That opens the door for more deliberate planning: combining CDBG, HOME, Housing Trust Fund, PRICE, and FHA tools to preserve MHCs as vital, long-term affordable housing assets. HUD Exchange+3HUD Exchange+3NHC Housing Resource Center+3

The throughline in all of this is simple: HUD money is finally flowing into MHCs in a way that matches their importance to America’s housing story. The challenge — and opportunity — now lies in how well local leaders, owners, and residents put that money to work.