Mobile Home Values Rose 34% in the Last 5 Years

Lending Tree study compares the affordability of mobile homes* and manufactured homes to single-family houses.

For homebuyers looking to buy single-family properties, alternatives to traditional houses can be a more affordable option. Jacob Channel, the senior economist for Lending Tree, says mobile homes, manufactured homes, condos, or townhouses are still cheaper than single-family homes, even as values rise for these alternatives.

A new Lending Tree study found that mobile homes and manufactured homes are cheaper, and their values appreciated almost as quickly as single families homes over five years from 2016 to 2021.

*Editor’s Note: (The study did not differentiate between a mobile home built before 1976 and a manufactured home built after 1976 HUD Code requirements.) 

Key findings of the study show:

1. On a national scale, the median value of a mobile home is $61,400 to $220,000 less than that of a single-family home, although median mobile home values increased by an average of 34.58% from 2016 to 2021. On the other hand, median single-family home values increased by an average of 35.4% for the same time period.
2. Mobile homes in Kansas, Ohio, and Iowa are the cheapest, with a median value of $29,000 or less. Meanwhile, single-family homes in these states cost $174,00 or more.
3. Mobile homes in Washington, Nevada, Oregon, and California are the most expensive, with a median value of $146,500, $114,000, $113,500, and $110,200, respectively. Only in these states are median mobile home values more than $100,000.
4. Mobile and single-family homes in California, Colorado, and Massachusetts have the highest difference in median price. Median-priced mobile homes cost $537,900, $404,000, and $390,300 less in these states than median-priced single-family homes. The differences in median prices in West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Mississippi are less than $105,000.
5.  The states with the highest increase in the median value for mobile homes from 2016 to 2021 are Rhode Island, Nebraska, and Idaho. Values have increased by 110.82% in these years, which is more than double the value before 2016. On the other hand, median single-family home values in these states appreciated by an average of 5.95% during this period.
6. The states with the least increase in the median value for mobile homes are Vermont, Alaska, North Dakota, and New Jersey. The value increased by 2.28%, 4.13%, 7.33%, and 9.11%, respectively, making them the only four states where values increased by less than 10%.

To do their analysis, Lending Tree referred to the U.S Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey and the 2016 American Community Survey with one-year estimates for every state except Hawaii. Hawaii was excluded due to insufficient data over the five years (2016-2021) on mobile homes and the state’s strict zoning laws around mobile-home parks.