An article in NuwireInvestor refutes the charge in a Wall Street Journal piece from Dec. 11, 2012 that the manufactured housing market is declining while the site-built market is rebounding. Of the 50,000 MHCs in the nation, 45,000 serve as affordable housing for those who pay around $500 a month for site rental and house payment. This segment of the population is the fastest growing demographic in the market, especially as 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 each day with an average Social Security check of $1,200 a month. The other 5,000 communities are lifestyle choice MHCs that offer many recreational and social amenities and run around $1,000 a month for site rent and house payment, a business model that does not apply to 90 percent of the factory-built housing market, but often used by the media as an example of MHCs. As MHProNews has learned, as long as apartment rents average $1,000 a month and those with lower incomes do not suddenly become prosperous, bottom tier apartments and manufactured housing communities present a viable option for those making under $20,000 a year.
