Do Manufactured Homes Appreciate in Value? What the Research Shows

"Mobile homes always lose value" is a common belief. The research says it depends on the land under the home.

Do manufactured homes appreciate in value?

Manufactured homes that are sold together with land as real property have appreciated at nearly the same rate as site-built homes, based on Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) data from 2000 to mid-2024.

In October 2024, FHFA published developmental price indexes for real property manufactured homes, using conventional mortgage data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The findings (FHFA technical note):

The Urban Institute reviewed the same data in November 2024 and found manufactured homes rose 211.8% from 2000 to 2024, compared with 212.6% for site-built homes. Since 2014, manufactured homes posted higher year-over-year growth in all but two quarters (Urban Institute).

What does the research not cover?

The FHFA and Urban Institute research covers only manufactured homes financed with the land as real property, so it does not show what happens to homes on rented lots or homes bought with chattel loans.

Keep these limits in mind:

• Real property only. The Urban Institute notes the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac data covers owners who hold both the home and the land. Homes on rented lots and chattel loans are not in it.
• No cash sales. FHFA's index uses mortgage data, so cash purchases are left out.
• Land does a lot of the work. The Urban Institute cites AEI data showing land's share of home value rose from 35.7% in 2012 to 57.4% in 2023. The home itself likely grew more slowly than the index suggests.
• Location mix. Texas, North Carolina, and Florida made up 32.2% of 2024 manufactured home shipments through July, and Florida prices rose much faster than the national average. The authors say this may overstate appreciation.

Do mobile homes depreciate?

Mobile homes on land the owner doesn't own are more likely to depreciate. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said in May 2021 that "consumers who do not own the underlying land are more likely to see their homes depreciate" (CFPB).

The same CFPB report found about 42% of manufactured home purchase loans were chattel loans, which are secured by the home only, not the land. Those loans generally carry higher interest rates and fewer protections than mortgages.

The LAND + HOME 4-factor value check

The LAND + HOME 4-factor value check is a quick way to tell whether a manufactured home is set up to hold or gain value. The more boxes a home checks, the more it behaves like a regular house.

Fannie Mae, for example, requires the home and land to be legally classified as real property and the home to sit on a permanent foundation (Fannie Mae B2-3-02). Those same features open the door to mortgage financing, which helps the next buyer too.

Park lot vs. owned land: which holds value better?

A manufactured home on owned land generally holds value better than a home on a leased lot in a park, because the land is part of what you own and can sell.

Example (hypothetical numbers): A family pays $210,000 for a double-wide on 2 acres, titled together, with the land making up $70,000 of that. If land values in the area rise, that $70,000 share grows with them. A similar home on a leased lot has no land share at all, so its value rides on the home alone.

A leased lot can still be a lower-cost place to live. Just treat it as housing, not an investment. Our guide to buying a mobile home with land walks through the land side, and single-wide vs. double-wide helps you choose the home.

The bottom line

Manufactured homes can appreciate, and research from FHFA and the Urban Institute shows homes titled with land have kept pace with site-built homes since 2000. The land, a permanent foundation, and real property titling make the difference. Markets vary a lot by location, so check local sales, do your research, and know your numbers.