Corporate Ownership Threatens Affordable Manufactured Home Living

About 20 million people in the United States live in manufactured housing units. These structures are built in factories and then transported to their final sites. The public often calls them "mobile homes" or "trailers." This terminology is technically inaccurate. The word "mobile" suggests that these houses are built for frequent moving. In reality, most owners cannot easily move their houses once they are installed on a lot.

The typical living situation in this sector involves a split between the home and the land. Most residents own the manufactured home itself but do not own the land beneath it. Instead, they pay rent to the owner of the manufactured home park for the space. In some cases, a resident may rent out their home to another person while still paying rent for the land to the park owner.

Manufactured homes are significantly more affordable than traditional single-family houses. This lower cost comes from cheaper upfront prices and smaller monthly expenses. The average cost for a manufactured home is approximately $120,000. Smaller units, known as "single-wides," typically cost around $87,000. For many low-income families, these homes represent the only realistic path to owning a house.

I am a sociology doctoral candidate specializing in poverty, inequality, and rural housing. In 2025, I started an in-depth research project. The goal was to document the lived experiences of residents in rural Wisconsin. My focus was on manufactured home parks that were being sold to or had already been purchased by private equity firms.

Private equity firms are investment companies. They pool money from investors to buy assets like real estate. These firms often try to increase their profits by raising rents and cutting operating costs. My research method involved conducting detailed interviews with residents. This helped me understand the human impact of these corporate sales.

To date, I have interviewed 15 individuals for this ongoing study. The findings are forthcoming and have not yet been published in academic journals. This approach allows for a preliminary understanding of the tensions developing between residents and new corporate owners.

My initial findings indicate a clear pattern. In the region I studied, rents frequently spike shortly after a private equity firm acquires a manufactured home park. This trend mirrors developments occurring across the rest of the country. These sudden rent increases create a severe crisis for low-income residents. Many are forced to consider moving, but they face limited affordable options in rural areas.

Nationally, rents in manufactured home parks have increased by 45% over the past decade. This figure is not adjusted for inflation. This means the real cost to residents is even higher when considering the changing value of money. This rate of growth mirrors the overall increase in the broader rental market. However, it highlights a critical issue. Manufactured housing is becoming less affordable at the same rapid pace as other rental markets, despite being marketed as an affordable alternative.

In many rural communities, manufactured homes are the primary source of affordable housing. When rents rise, residents have nowhere else to go. There are no comparable low-cost housing options in these regions.

In 2025, I interviewed a man I am referring to as Anthony Perez. I use pseudonyms to protect the privacy of the individuals who shared their stories. This is a standard method in social science research to ensure confidentiality. Perez worked as a logger in northern Wisconsin for many years. However, a debilitating back injury ended his ability to continue in that profession when he was in his early 50s.

Anticipating a long-term reduction in income, Perez made a strategic decision. He chose to invest his life savings in a manufactured home. He believed this would provide financial stability on his disability income. "There was a trailer for sale, and it was decent," he explained. "I had a little savings and workers comp, so I bought it for $9,000, thinking I could afford to live there on my disability income."

This plan failed when a private equity firm purchased his park. The new owners immediately raised his monthly lot rent from $350 to $500. This increase was devastating. Perez receives $800 per month in Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. The new rent consumed more than half of his total monthly income.

Relocating a manufactured home is not a simple solution. Moving a house after it has been installed is extremely expensive. The process costs anywhere between $5,000 and $10,000. These high costs effectively trap low-income residents in their homes if their rents rise beyond their financial means. They are physically and financially stuck.

With no other housing options available, Perez decided to stay and fight. He organized alongside his neighbors, who were all facing the same rising rents and uncertainty. The residents began holding meetings to develop strategies to resist the changes imposed by the new ownership. "They’re bullies," Perez stated. "So we here residents have to make some noise and get some power in a group to push back."

Perez was not alone in his fear. Many residents I met lived in a state of constant anxiety about losing their homes. They faced limited options for where to go if they were forced to leave.

Johanna Hansen, a retired high school teacher, experienced similar fears. She also invested her life savings in her manufactured home. She lived about 40 miles west of Perez in a different park that a private equity firm had recently made an offer to purchase. "I own my home, but I don’t own the land that it is on," Hansen said. "I always feel that insecurity of not knowing what will happen a year from now – or with the current sale, maybe even sooner than that."

Hansen explained that if her monthly lot rent increased by more than $100, she would be forced to sell her home and move. She expressed deep regret about her original decision to buy into a park with corporate interests. "Had I known the park was going to be sold to an investment group, I wouldn’t have bought in the first place," she said. "But now I’m stuck."

The current threat to manufactured housing parks echoes a similar loss in American housing history: the disappearance of single-room occupancy (SRO) units. In the 1950s, SRO units accounted for roughly 10% of all rental housing in the United States. These units typically shared bathrooms and kitchens. The cost was equivalent to about $100 to $300 per month in 2025 dollars.

Starting in the mid-20th century, cities began rewriting zoning and building codes. These legal changes effectively eliminated hundreds of thousands of SRO units. This reduction in affordable housing contributed significantly to an increase in homelessness in urban areas.

Manufactured housing today stands at a similar crossroads. Like SRO units, manufactured homes are often stigmatized. They are undervalued by policymakers and the general public as a critical source of affordable housing. There is a widespread perception that they are temporary or inferior, despite providing permanent shelter for millions.

Just as SRO units have largely disappeared, manufactured housing is at risk of being lost as a viable affordable option. The pattern of corporate acquisition, rent hikes, and resident displacement repeats a cycle that has historically reduced housing choices for the poor. Without intervention, the loss of manufactured housing could exacerbate the affordable housing crisis in rural America.

Residents like Perez and Hansen are caught in this system. They have invested their savings in their homes, only to find their financial security threatened by corporate decisions. Their struggle is not just about rent. It is about the right to remain in their communities. The organization they are building is a response to a power imbalance. They are attempting to reclaim agency in a system designed to extract value from their labor and savings.

The data shows that this is a national trend, not just a regional issue. As private equity firms continue to acquire manufactured home parks, the pressure on low-income residents will intensify. The lack of affordable alternatives in rural areas means that displacement is not just a possibility. It is a near certainty for those who cannot absorb the cost increases.

This situation requires attention from policymakers and housing advocates. The stigma attached to manufactured housing has allowed its affordability to be eroded. Recognizing manufactured homes as a permanent and essential part of the affordable housing infrastructure is the first step toward protecting residents. Without such recognition, the crisis will continue to deepen, leaving millions of Americans with few options other than displacement or destitution.