For nearly thirty years, Virginia Rubio has lived in a mobile home park in Forks, Washington. Until now, his rent was around 350 dollars per month, but recently, prices have skyrocketed and are now around 1,000 dollars per month.
This retired home health aide, who lives on food stamps and the $860 retirement pension she receives each month, can no longer make ends meet. She owns the mobile home which she shares with her partner and her adult daughter, but she risks having to abandon it soon, for lack of being able to pay the rent for the land on which it is installed. The 75-year-old retiree laments:
“I don’t see what one could do against such an increase. Everyone here is afraid of losing their home.”
Twenty million Americans live in mobile homes.
Soaring real estate prices and rents have repercussions even in mobile home parks: the increase in demand, the supply at half mast and the resurgence of takeovers by companies drive up costs for low-income households with few alternatives. Meanwhile, private equity firms and promoters prowl, seeking to buy up as many plots as possible to launch more lucrative projects, such as timeshare vacation homes, wedding reception venues or condominium residences.
In the United States, mobile homes have long been one of the most affordable forms of housing, especially for families who do not receive public assistance. Nearly 20 million Americans have opted for this type of housing – which now represents 6% of housing in the United States. And some experts believe that number could soon rise as fewer and fewer Americans can afford to live in a house or apartment.
The price of a mobile home ranges from $25,000 (in Nebraska, Iowa or Ohio) to over $125,000 (in Washington State). Overall, it is three to five times less than that of a traditional pavilion.
The pandemic drives prices up
But the rise in demand for affordable housing has put pressure on the market. Nationally, the average price of a mobile home jumped nearly 50% during the pandemic, from $82,900 to $123,200. Over the same period, the price of a new house has increased by 22%.
Information is more limited as to the rents of the plots on which the mobile homes are installed. If we know that they generally increase by 4% to 6% per year, according to the indications of professionals in the sector, data on their exact amounts are rare. This lack of transparency is compounded by the fact