Manufactured Homes: Affordability and Value For All Age Groups and Income Levels
I recently read a BBC News Magazine article titled, “Why Do So Many Americans Live In Mobile Homes?” The British author sought to determine why 20 million people in the U.S. live in mobile homes and how this has become “the cheap housing choice of so many people?” The author, Tom Geoghegan, did a good job analyzing and detailing the stereotypical image problem in the U.S.–discussing how American’s associate mobile homes with poverty. He suggested that perhaps, unlike European countries, the U.S. has a policy issue which limits housing options for low income individuals. The author noted that compared to European countries, the U.S. has a significantly lower percentage of subsidized housing approvals.
The perception that only poor people live in mobile homes still persists, but is no longer a valid view of today’s manufactured home or manufactured home buyer.
The manufactured home today is not the same mobile home of yesterday.The only similarity that remains constant is the affordability and value that manufactured homes offer.Today’s manufactured homes are built with superior quality construction, upgraded amenities, and affordable pricing. This new era of manufactured homes has become the first choice for people in the real estate market, including all different economic levels.
According to the U.S. Census, of the 8.5 million U.S. housing sectors, manufactured (mobile) homes make up 6.4% of them, and in a recent report from the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI), about 57% of mobile home households are occupied by full-time employed individuals with another 23% that are retired. The household median income is a little over one-half the national average.
A recent study by, Foremost Insurance Company, showed that the average manufactured homeowner is 49.9 years old. The same study found that 59% of manufactured households have no children, and the average size of manufactured households is 2.7 persons.
Manufactured homes are the fastest-growing type of housing in the U.S. The quality, appearance, affordability, and value appeals to most every demographic group of home buyers. With household compositions changing, the future growth potential for manufactured homes appears to be singles, unrelated couples, married couples with one one or more children, and single parents with one or more children. Senior adults continue to find manufactured homes an attractive alternative to site built homes.This age group is more likely than younger groups to own older existing homes free and clear. They often choose a manufactured home because they find the cost and labor for upkeep and repair to their existing home is much more than they can afford, and they appreciate the maintenance-free aspect of owning a manufactured home.
Today’s manufactured home helps thousands attain the “American Dream” of home ownership.
To read related articles on this manufactured home topic, click: “Who Buys Today’s Manufactured Homes?”–“More People Living Alone and Buying Manufactured Homes”–“Manufactured Homes:Myth vs. Reality”
