Manufactured Home Dealers
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 1,200 manufactured home dealers in the US sell new and/or used manufactured homes, parts, equipment, and related services. Manufactured homes are also known as mobile homes. Product categories include single-section homes and multi-section homes. The majority of sales are for new manufactured homes. The average sales price for a new manufactured home was $108,100 in 2021.
Dependence On Credit
Customers typically rely on third-party lenders to fund manufactured home purchases, and dealers depend on floor-plan financing to fund inventory.
Image Makeover
The manufactured home industry is attempting to move beyond negative images of trailer parks by upgrading units to feel more like site-built homes.
Industry size & Structure
The average manufactured home dealer operates out of a single location, employs 9 workers, and generates $9 million annually.
- The manufactured home dealer industry consists of about 1,200 companies that employ 11,000 workers and generate about $11 billion annually.
- Manufactured homes account for about 9-10% of all new single-family homes sold.
- The industry is fragmented; the top 50 companies account for 57% of sales.
- Manufactured home dealers typically operate on a regional basis. States with large numbers of manufactured homes include Texas, Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina, and Mississippi.
- Some manufactured home manufacturers are vertically integrated and have retail operations. In addition, some manufactured home communities have dealer licenses.
Industry Forecast
Manufactured Home Dealers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Jun 3, 2024 - Steady but Slow Industry Growth
- Manufactured home dealers are expected to experience steady but slow sales growth in 2024 after a softening of demand in 2023. The industry’s year-over-year sales growth slowed to 2.9% in 2023 after posting a gain of 12.4% in 2022, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. Sales growth is projected to moderate further to 2.6% in 2024, rise 2.8% in 2025, then see flat but steady average annual growth of about 2.9% through 2028, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.
- Recent reports by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) suggest that while manufactured homes offer an affordable path to homeownership for low- and moderate-income households, bringing more manufactured homes online faces some tough barriers. Perceptions about manufactured homes are often negative, and the JCHS study authors suggest education and advocacy are necessary to overcome the industry’s reputation of poor quality and aesthetics. Even if advocacy and education about modern manufactured homes improve local attitudes about manufactured homes, overcoming zoning restrictions to allow manufactured homes where they’d previously been prohibited is often more complex. Zoning can sometimes be overcome by installing manufactured homes on permanent foundations, but developers often site their projects outside city limits or in unregulated areas.
- US shipments of manufactured homes were flat month over month in March 2024, according to the US Census Bureau. On a year-over-year basis, March’s sales were up 10.5% compared to March 2023. Manufactured housing has tended to be countercyclical during tough economic times because it is one of the lowest-cost options for housing in the US. High interest rates and a lack of affordability in the single-family housing market, and high multifamily rents could boost manufactured home demand.
- Federal housing agencies are working to make manufactured housing available to more consumers and to revitalize existing manufactured home communities, according to Globe St. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has revised methodologies for calculating home loan limits under the Title I Manufactured Home Loan Program so they align with current market prices. To remove barriers to the market for offering Title I loans, Ginnie Mae has relaxed the financial eligibility requirements for issuing Title I loans. In February of 2024, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched its Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) program, which offers $225 million in grants for manufactured home owners to improve their homes. Grants are also available to manufactured home community owners to upgrade property infrastructure, including water, sewer, utilities, and weatherization. Real estate investment services firm Marcus & Millichap suggests demand for manufactured housing will remain robust in 2024, particularly in warmer regions with high costs for single-family and multifamily housing.
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