According to The Manufactured Housing Institute, as of 2020, there were over 22 MILLION people living in manufactured homes throughout the United States.
This equates to nearly 10% of all new single-family home starts in the United States.
Did that number surprise you?
If so, join the club!
Manufactured homes have been an affordable option for families seeking homeownership for decades.
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With the average square footage price for single-family homes coming in at nearly $120 per square foot compared to manufactured homes at less than half that it is no wonder why so many folks are flocking to manufactured homes as an economic way to get to their goal of home ownership.
What Is A Manufactured Home?
Manufactured homes are properties that are built within a factory on an assembly line.
These factories tailor make each and every home that goes through the factory line having every inch of the property built in a climate-controlled environment. Every aspect of the home is built within this factory making it a precision build for every model that is constructed.
Once the homes leave the factory they are put on large trucks and hauled to their new homesite whether that be within a manufactured home park or on private land.
After the home arrives at the homesite a separate “set up” crew is assembled to get the home off the truck and set up correctly on the property. Here all of the tie-downs are put in place, the steps installed and the home set up on its “pad” so that all utilities can be run out to the home.
Once this is done and the necessary inspections and permits are on file then the home is ready for occupancy.
Benefits Of A Manufactured Home
Speed Of Build:
With the entire building process being taken care of within a climate-controlled warehouse the delays commonly associated with a single-family home do not exist. With no concern of weather delays as well as a standard, factory-like assembly method these homes can go from an idea to a home that is ready to be hauled to their new home site in a fraction of the time that it would take a single-family home to be built.
Financing:
When buying a single-family home the financing is pretty straightforward, either the Buyer will be paying with a traditional mortgage or paying in cash. When looking at financing a manufactured home there are several different options as the home can come in different packages including:
- Buying The Home And Leasing The Land In A Manufactured Home Park
- Buying The Home And The Land From The Dealer
- Owning The Land And Then Putting A Home On It
- Financing The Land Through A Traditional Mortgage Then Mortgaging The Manufactured Home In Another Loan
As you can see there are several financing options, one to surely fit every manufactured home Buyer!
Affordability:
Manufactured homes can be bought new or used. Generally speaking, the newer the home the more it costs. If you are looking at buying a used manufactured home you could be setting yourself up for a great deal, far greater than that of a preowned single-family home.
When taking a look at all of these issues it is easy to see why purchasing a manufactured home can be a great purchase option!
Now that we have laid out the basics of what a manufactured home is and how it can benefit the Buyer we need to next discuss if manufactured homes are good investments.
Manufactured Homes Are Vehicles
Crazy, right?
Let us explain; manufactured homes have titles associated with the purchase of the home and not deeds. What this means is that the home is just like a vehicle in that it gets registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) when putting the home into a new owner’s hands.
Each year, a manufactured home will need to be registered with the local DMV. When registered the owner of the home will be given a set of stickers that will need to be placed in the front window of the home as seen below:
Manufactured Home Renewal Stickers Always Should Be Clearly Placed In The Front Of The Home
*Pro Tip*
If you own a doublewide manufactured home make sure you apply for and obtain a registration sticker for each side of the home.
Ever thought the place you call home also has the same requirements as the car you drive to work?!
Manufactured Home Prices
Now that you understand what, exactly, a manufactured home is, what the benefits are, and how these homes compare to vehicles it is important to then understand if they will gain value in value like a single-family home or lose value like that of a vehicle.
Surprisingly, the answer is not a straight one.
Depreciation:
Generally speaking, manufactured homes will depreciate, much like a vehicle does when it drives off the car dealership lot. The reason for this is because manufactured homes are considered personal property and not real property such as real estate.
Appreciation:
Even though the manufactured home can depreciate with time, if the home is purchased and placed on its own piece of land the homeowner may benefit from appreciation through the value of the land the home resides on.
Are Manufactured Homes Good Investments?
This question should be looked at both in dollars and value.
There is simply no better value in the housing industry than that of a manufactured home. The speed at which the home is built, the accuracy of the build, the cost efficiency, and the features that are included are all leaps and bounds ahead of that of a single-family home.
The downside is that, if the home is viewed by itself, it will depreciate, much like that of a new vehicle purchase.
With this understanding, another option to consider would be that of buying a preowned manufactured home and then placing that home on your own property. Here, one could have the best of both worlds seeing as that the Buyer could then have the appreciation of the home being on a piece of land while at the same time not suffering as much of the depreciation as the original owner did when they bought the home new.
Whether you buy new or used, in a manufactured home park, or on your own land, manufactured homes provide the highest value of any housing option in the United States at this time.
If you are willing to take the good with the bad then do yourself a favor and take a look at purchasing a manufactured home for your next home purchase!
This is Mark Kaiser with The Mobile Home Dealer and we help mobile home Buyers and Sellers get to a better place in life.
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