I Live in a Luxury Mobile Home: 3 Reasons They’re Worth the Extra Money
Written by
Daria Uhlig
Edited by
Amber Barkley
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Mobile homes — more accurately termed manufactured homes — provide all the benefits of homeownership, but for a smaller price tag than you’re likely to pay for a site-built or modular home.
The difference is in their construction. Whereas site-built and modular homes are built according to local building codes, manufactured homes meet standards established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Luxury models can rival their site- and factory-built counterparts in terms of quality construction and amenities.
Luxury mobile homes aren’t cheap compared to standard models. But owner Jackie Adkins, who purchased her high-end manufactured home in 2019, says it was well worth the cost.
They’re More Comfortable
High-end manufactured homes are often double-width, providing 1,500 to 1,800 square feet of living space. Open floor plans and standard-sized bedrooms and baths make for more comfortable living. And you don’t have to settle for paneled walls — it’s not unusual to find luxury mobile homes with drywall, making them nearly indistinguishable from site- and factory-built homes.
Despite their smaller size, even single-wide luxury mobiles look and feel more like cottages than “trailers.” You don’t need a lot of square footage to have high-end features, such as luxury vinyl plank flooring, granite countertops, stainless appliances and fireplaces.
What’s more, luxury mobiles are often located in prime locations. Adkins lives in Ocean City, Maryland, just five blocks from the ocean, in a bayfront community with pools, a boardwalk and fishing pier, tennis courts and miniature golf.
They’re More Affordable
The average sale price of a brand-new, double-wide mobile home was $148,100 in January 2024, according to the Census Bureau’s Manufacturing Housing Survey. The average sale price of a newly constructed home during that same period was $534,300, per a joint statement from HUD and the Census Bureau.
Adkins’ home has three bedrooms and two baths, and she also owns the lot. She paid $160,000 for it in 2019, when comparable site-built homes in the same community and in neighboring communities were selling for $260,000 to $325,000.
They Often Appreciate in Value
A luxury manufactured home often sits on a permanent foundation. When that that’s the case, and the homeowner also owns the land the home sits on, the mobile home is considered real estate. And like other types of real estate, it stands a good chance of appreciating in value over time, as Adkins can attest.
“In the [last] five years, mobiles in my neighborhood have increased significantly,” she said. “My $160,000 home is now worth close to $300,000.”
High-end mobile homes on leased lots can appreciate, too, especially when they’re located in parks with resort-like amenities. For example, the average sale price for mobile homes in Pot-Nets Bayside, a resort manufactured home community near the Delaware beaches, rose from $197,000 for the 90 days prior to June 20, 2023, to $219,000 for the 90 days prior to June 20, 2024.
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