Consumer and investment demand for manufactured housing units

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize and empirically measure consumer and investment demand for manufactured housing. These measurements are relevant to disaster, energy efficiency, and affordability issues in the housing sector. The demand for immediate housing services by consumers and the demand for investment into new manufactured housing units are estimated in structural econometric models, which are derived from a stock/flow equilibrium framework. The results indicate that elasticities of demand are different for consumers as opposed to investors. Accordingly, policy makers should delineate between the signals sent to consumers and investors when implementing housing programs.