Om episode
Today on Post Reports, how rising prices at mobile home parks may destabilize the entire housing market. Plus, climate change is forcing schools to close early for “heat days.” Read more:America’s housing crisis is trickling down to mobile home parks. Mobile homes have traditionally been the country’s biggest source of affordable housing: 20 million Americans live in manufactured homes. Most mobile home park residents own their houses and rent the land underneath. But now, mobile home parks are doubling or even tripling their rent across the country. Economics reporter Abha Bhattarai explains how high demand, low inventory and a rise in corporate ownership threaten the affordability of mobile homes. Plus later in the show, national education reporter Laura Meckler discusses how schools in many parts of the country are closing because of excessive heat fueled by climate change. “Heat days” pose a threat to students’ health and academic success, Meckler explains, adding, “This is a problem that people recognize but is just a lot easier to identify than it is to solve.”