America is in a real mess right now, and it’s only going to get worse. Virtually all U.S. economists predict a major recession in 2023. There are already many headlines about layoffs at places like Twitter and Facebook. However, mobile home park collections are still strong, demand for homes has never been higher, and defaults on mobile home mortgages are still at around 5% or less. So how come mobile home park residents don’t seem to be struggling while many other Americans are? The answer lies in the facts and figures regarding employment.
A huge percentage of mobile home park residents are retired
Nobody knows the exact figure, but it’s a safe bet that around 50% of mobile home park residents are retired. In some properties it’s even higher. This is a group that feels no pain when the economy enters recession and layoffs begin. And that’s always been a strength of the mobile home park business and was most apparent during the 2020 to 2021 lockdowns where a huge amount of residents kept paying as normal because they didn’t go to work anyway. As many seniors elect to sell their home, downsize, and move into a park, they bring with them true contrarian resistance to the economy pitfalls.
Mobile home park residents are in mostly “essential” industries
Another lesson learned during the pandemic was that mobile home park residents are mostly engaged in “essential” industries that the government refuses to let be shut down. But that transcends simply bureaucratic doctrine. These are the businesses that make America function and without their labor there would be no way to eat, drive, and have basic functioning utilities. Because of this importance, these are probably the last job sectors that would ever suffer from layoffs or downsizing.
Based on current statistics these are the strongest segments of employment in the U.S.
Recent employment statistics show the following as the most in-demand jobs based on job postings:
- Retail salespeople
- Customer service representatives
- Laborers
- Freight, stock and material movers
- Truck drivers
- Sales representatives
- Servers
- Home health aides
- Groundskeepers
Those read like the A,B,C’s of typical park resident employment.
And the forward projections are just as favorable
And then there is the forward looking projections for employment demand in the years ahead. This includes the top industries of:
- Food preparation
- Food servers
- Personal care aides
- Cashiers
- Restaurant cooks
This is literally the sweet spot of mobile home park employment, as the #1 most prevalent industry for mobile home park residents is fast food. In the end, that’s exactly where you want to be in a modern America.
Even thought these jobs don’t pay a lot, living in mobile home parks doesn’t cost a lot
Of course, some will say “well, those industries don’t pay much” and that’s true. However, mobile home park lot rents don’t cost much, either. Whie the average apartment rent in the U.S. is $2,000 per month, the average mobile home park lot rent is only around $300 per month. That means that while people who work in the industries would be hard-pressed to pay their apartment rent, they have no trouble holding their mobile home park housing cost to around 30% of their total income, including those who only make minimum wage. And that means that mobile home park residents are one of the most financially solid groups in the American labor market.
Conclusion
Although the U.S. is almost certainly heading for a recession in 2023, mobile home park residents are one of the most recession-resistant groups you’ll find. This means that, despite layoffs and closures, mobile home park workers will continue to be in strong demand and able to pay the rent on time. And that’s exactly the customer base you want in 2023.
To learn more about this fascinating, contrarian industry, consider our Mobile Home Park Investor’s Boot Camp on January 13th to 15th. You will learn the correct way to identify, evaluate, negotiate, perform due diligence on, renegotiate, finance, turn-around and operate mobile home parks – and those are the skills you need to profitably participate in this intriguing alternative investing sector.