- Prices for mobile homes have shot up more than prices for newly built single-family homes in recent years, according to a study by LendingTree. Demand for mobile homes has surged amid the affordable-housing crisis.
Home prices have soared amid tight supply and high demand—including prices for mobile homes, which have been one of the last affordable-housing options.
According to a study from LendingTree earlier this month, the average sale price of new mobile homes, or manufactured homes, jumped 58.3% between 2018 and 2023.
Some states experienced even bigger surges. In Kansas, Connecticut, and Georgia, prices spiked 84.9%, 83%, and 79%, respectively.
By comparison, the average sales price of new single-family homes, excluding land, rose 37.7% over the same period.
To be sure, mobile homes were still much cheaper last year than new single-family homes were—$124,300 on average versus $409,872—and the one-year span between 2022 and 2023 saw a 2.4% dip in prices for mobile homes.
But prices can be volatile, and it's unclear if the decline marks a pivot away from the long-term trend of rising prices, LendingTree added.
While manufactured homes, which are built in factories and delivered to customers, suffer from a "trailer park" stigma, they were once a mainstay in American housing. In fact, they were so popular that in 14 states during the early 1970s, at least half the homes were manufactured.
Experts believe manufactured homes could be a solution to the housing crisis if federal law is amended to boost their appeal. LendingTree also said broader acceptance of mobile homes could help improve the situation.
"A mobile home can provide a good blend of affordability, convenience, safety, and shelter if buyers understand what they’re getting," the report said.
Meanwhile, demand is rising, and shipments of new manufactured homes climbed 16% in the first nine months of this year from the same period last year. They can even be ordered online via Amazon and Facebook Marketplace.
The rising price of manufactured homes also adds to the growing overall cost of living in them. For example, owners who live in mobile-home parks must often pay rent to use the underlying land they're on. And those rent prices are also surging as investment banks, hedge funds, and other big investors buy up mobile-home parks.
The trend in rents caught the attention of Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, who pointed out in a September note that buyers don't qualify for traditional mortgages because they don't own the land underneath them.
"More often, they rely on personal property loans, which face less regulation and come at higher costs," he warned. "For some, that creates a perfect storm of unaffordability in a segment that traditionally was heralded for its affordability."
