By Marc Tropp
Over the past decade, investors have shown steadily growing interest in America’s manufactured housing sector. And, affordability plays a big part in the industry’s appeal.
According to the U.S. Census, the total annual shipment of manufactured housing units nationwide was 103,314 in 2024. This figure marked a 161 percent increase since 2014, when shipments equaled 64,331. Two years prior to the most recent annual number, the 2022 figure of 112,882 units was the highest since 2006.
Along with the rising number of actual units shipped, anecdotal evidence demonstrates growth in the manufactured housing sector in recent years.
My own experience provides an example: In 2019, I attended my first annual meeting hosted by the Manufactured Housing Institute. The event is populated by investors, banks, brokers, and various support companies. My records indicate that there were 778 registered attendees that year.
Six years later, in 2025, 1,239 attendees were signed up to attend. That’s a 59 percent increase in turnout. Plus, over this period, MHI has hosted a growing number of successful meetings.
Another anecdotal example involves the experience of the company for which I work, Eastern Union. Our firm, in existence for 24 years, arranges commercial mortgages nationwide for a spectrum of asset types.
While my company is generally agnostic in respect to the categories of real estate we will help finance, our presence in the manufactured housing field has grown noticeably in recent years.
The number of manufactured housing transactions closed by our firm over the most recent five-year period was 170 percent greater than the number closed during the prior five-year period.
Our firm’s deals in this space have also become considerably larger in size over the past 10 years. Comparing average deal size during the last two five-year periods, the figure has more than doubled: the most recent five-year period was 107 percent higher than the number for the previous five-year period.
In 2011, I was soliciting financing bids on a 124-pad manufactured housing property in the mid-Atlantic region. Our efforts attracted two bidders.
Fast forward 14 years, and I find myself seeking bids on the same asset. I presently have more than a dozen lenders bidding for the chance to finance this same property. All factors held equal, that amounts to more than a sixfold increase in lender interest.
Why is there so much interest in financing these properties over the past decade?
As I see it, a key driver of growing lender interest in manufactured housing is the fact that the sector essentially stands as America’s last surviving model for affordable, single-family living.
A 2020 article by MHI CEO Lesli Gooch states that manufactured housing is “the most affordable option available for single-family homeownership. [It offers] affordability and quality to consumers because of technological advancements, cost savings, and efficiencies associated with the factory-built process. This process uses the most innovative and efficient building practices available.”
Similarly, as described in a March report in Shelterforce, factory-built homes “are more affordable than traditional single-family homes for many reasons. They’re cheaper to build, and therefore buy, partly due to logistics — smaller size, lower-priced materials, mass production, and reduced construction labor costs.
The cost of single-family homes has been rising, as discussed in an April report published by North American Community Hub Statistics. Over the past five years, U.S. home values have increased by roughly 9 percent per year on average, while over the past 10 years, they’ve risen about 7 percent per year on average. In other words, “national home prices saw an exceptionally rapid climb in recent years, far above historical norms.”
Homebuyers intuitively recognize the benefits of buying an affordable home. As spelled out in a recent GoBankingRates. com financial advice column, “If you choose a home that you can easily afford, then you’re likely to have less stress every month when it’s time to make your payment. If you choose a truly affordable house, you’ll be less likely to make late payments or worse, default on your mortgage.”
Buyers of manufactured homes themselves cite affordability in their decision-making: A 2022 MHI study cited by MHInsider showed that “70 percent of residents cite affordability as the key driver for choosing manufactured housing.”
Tuned in to the needs of their market’s end-users, many stakeholders in manufacturing housing emphasize affordability in their marketing messages.
For example, as seen in a 2021 post by Inspire Communities, a real estate investment trust with more than 110 manufactured housing communities nationwide:
“One of the most recognized benefits to manufactured homes is their affordability. Manufactured homes have become a great option for first-time home buyers and retirees with a limited budget.”
Because they are mass-produced and built on assembly lines, manufactured homes cost less to make…[and] manufactured home buyers historically spend up to 20 per-cent less on housing than those building or investing in traditional, stick-built homes.
Likewise, Three Pillar Communities, an operator of more than 80 communities nationwide, states that one of its primary principles is to “provide communities that are objectively affordable.”
Marc Tropp is a senior managing director with Eastern Union, a national commercial mortgage brokerage. He leads the company’s mid-Atlantic regional office in Bethesda, MD. Tropp has closed more than 100 manufactured housing transactions. He has secured more than $2 billion in financing across all industry sectors in his career.
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