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Manufactured Homes Are Now Top Tier Wealth Builder
The estimated principal and interest payment for a median manufactured home was $678, compared with $1,918 for a standard home. That's less than half the national median rent—$1,918.
The estimated principal and interest payment for a median manufactured home was $678, compared with $1,918 for a standard home. That's less than half the national median rent—$1,918.
Making the move to mobile
"Mobile homes" refers to anything built before June 15, 1976 (pre-HUD code), while "manufactured homes" are those built after.
Manufactured homes offer some obvious advantages over standard ones, including the opportunity to live in wildly desirable locales for a fraction of the cost. Take the Los Angeles metro area, for example, where the median home price is north of $1.13 million. You can find manufactured homes at the low end for a tenth of the price—though there's also a luxury manufactured home market where homes top out at nearly $2 million.
Owners of manufactured homes with land are seeing greater returns on their investments compared with single-family homes. Over the last seven years, manufactured homes sold with land appreciated in value by 70.1%, compared with typical single-family homes, which saw a 58.6% increase.
The advantages only increase if you're considering a new build. New build manufactured homes can often be ready in weeks, and offer owners the opportunity to customize finishes and floor plans. Going manufactured doesn't mean you have to skimp on size; the median manufactured home was 1,248 square feet.
Of course, there are some drawbacks. Manufactured homes without land appreciated at 51.6%—around 7% less than conventional single-family homes.
“Mobile-home buying and selling is really on the margin of homeownership, so it’s quite volatile in terms of price, with the makeup of buyers and sellers constantly changing and surging in and out,” Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner says.
Read on to see the markets where you'll find the highest concentrations of manufactured homes.
By Julie Gerstein March 24, 2026
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