Higher housing costs hit residents of mobile-home parks

A mobile home park near Greeneville, Tenn. (Photo by Michael Williamson, The Washington Post)

"Surging home prices and rents are cascading down to the country’s mobile home parks, where heightened demand, low supply and an increase in corporate owners is driving up monthly costs for low-income residents with few alternatives. At the same time, private-equity firms and developers are often circling nearby, looking to buy up such properties and turn them into more lucrative ventures, including timeshare resorts, wedding venues and condominiums," reports Abha Bhattarai of The Washington Post.

The average price of mobile and other manufactured homes has risen by nearly half during the pandemic, from $82,900 to $123,200, according to the Census Bureau. "Average new home prices rose 22 percent in that period," Bhattarai notes. "However, less is known about how much mobile homeowners pay to rent the land under their homes. Lot rents typically rise between 4 and 6 percent a year, according to industry sources, though there is little data on exact costs or price increases. That lack of transparency is complicated by the fact few cities or states have rules governing rent increases at mobile home parks."

And a mobile home may not be very mobile. "Moving a mobile home — if it is new enough to be moved at all — can cost as much as $15,000, which means residents are often beholden to the parks where they live," Bhattarai reports.

Rents are rising with land prices and a shortage of affordable housing, Casey Dawkins, a professor of urban studies and planning at the University of Maryland, told the Post. Also, home parks are facing higher costs for utilities, workers and property taxes, John Pawlowski, managing director at real estate research firm Green Street Advisors, told Bhattarai.