Top 10 Ways a Manufactured Home Checks All the Boxes for Quality Affordable Home Ownership

As traditional site-built home prices continue to soar, a result of an inflationary spiral and mortgage rates at or around 7%, there are hard working families that seemingly believe they cannot partake in the uniquely American Dream of home ownership.

Fact is, traditional pre-owned (site-built) housing has priced most lower and middle income families completely out of the market, at least for the foreseeable future.

However, many are discovering their dream home, and it will be built in a factory – today’s modern high-quality affordable manufactured home. The following are 10 important reasons why a manufactured home is “everything a home should be.”

1. AFFORDABILITY AND PRICING: A manufactured home is a sound investment. Today’s modern new manufactured home is at least equal, and often superior, in every respect to a traditional site-built home, with a cost of about 50% less. Check these comparisons.

Average national price of a pre-owned site-built home: $435,000 (Realtors.com)

Average price of a of new manufactured home:             $124,900*

Average price of a single section manufactured home:    $85,800

Average price of a multi-section manufactured Home:    $159,200

(U.S. Census Bureau)

*Without land costs

2. VALUE APPRECIATION: Across the country the median value of mobile homes/manufactured homes increased 34.6% on average between 2016-2021, compared to 35.4% for single family homes.  (Based on a Lending Tree Analysis of U.S. Census data – May 2022).

3. ARCHITECTURAL STYLES: Today’s manufactured homes have experienced an evolution in the types and quality of homes available to homebuyers.Technological advancements allow manufactured/modular home builders to offer a variety of styles and exterior finishes that wil suit any buyer’s dreams while allowing the home to blend seamlessly into most any neighborhood.

4. CUSTOMIZATION: Greater flexibility in the construction process allows for customization to meet a homeowner’s lifestyle and needs. Interior features include vaulted ceilings, working fireplaces, state of the art kitchens, luxurious baths, covered porches, giving the homebuyer all the features found in traditional site-built homes that can cost many thousands of dollars more.

5. ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Enhanced energy efficiency in manufactured homes, achieved with upgraded levels of insulation, more efficient heating, cooling systems, and the efficiency of the factory building process provides another source of savings for homeowners – especially in this era of rising energy costs. Energy Star-labeled manufactured homes can result in as much as 30% additional savings.

6. STRINGENT BUILDING CODE: Manufactured housing is the only form of home regulated by a federal building Code (HUD) Code, which includes energy efficiency, safety and durability. Manufactured  homes are the only form of single family housing with a federal mandated warranty against defects in material, workmanship, and structural defects for at least one year following occupancy,

7. WIND AND STORM SAFETY: A study by the University of Florida found that not one manufactured home built and installed after 1994 HUD Code changes was destroyed or seriously damaged by four hurricanes that struck Florida in 2004. The same phenomenon occurred in the Guld Coast region during Hurricane Katrina and subsequent wind events with newer manufactured homes performing beyond expectations.

8. FIRE SAFETY: A national fire study by the Foremost insurance company showed that site-built homes are more than twice as likely to experience the occasion of fire than manufactured homes. The study showed that the number of home fires is 17 per 1000 site built homes, while only 8 per thousand manufactured homes. The National Fire Protection Association found that manufactured homes have a lower incidence of fires and a lower injury rate – 34 to 44- percent lower than the rate of other single family homes.

9. MULTIPLE FINANCING CHOICES: Multiple financing programs are available, whether the home is placed on private property or within a land-lease community. A manufactured home affixed to real estate will qualify for mortgage financing similar to a traditional site-built home, including FHA, VA, with down payment as low as 3%.  A manufactured home on land not attached to a property or located within a land lease community is financed as a chattel (personal property) loan without land encumbered. Even when the home and land are financed together, the home is often secured as personal property and the land as real estate.

10. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: According to a study from a few years ago by the Foremost Insurance Company, 88% of manufactured homeowners reported satisfaction with their housing choice. Likewise, a more recent study by the National Family Opinion, found that 93% of manufactured homeowners are satisfied with their housing choice.