Land is easy to build on until local rules, politics, and neighbors say “no.” That simple reality is why manufactured housing communities keep behaving differently than almost every other real estate niche, and why values have held up even through rough cycles.
Why supply stays tight
Unlike apartments, self-storage, retail, or industrial, the “build more” answer usually does not exist here. In many markets, new parks have effectively been blocked for decades, so the inventory is close to fixed, and the path of least resistance is often redevelopment of existing sites into a different use.
The two forces shrinking the count
- New development is rare: Zoning and permitting commonly prevent new community approvals, so the number of viable locations does not expand much.
- Redevelopment keeps removing parks: Older communities can be worth more as apartments, retail, or mixed-use, so some are bought, closed, and repurposed, reducing the remaining supply.
When supply is tight and occasionally shrinking, the remaining communities become harder to replace, which supports higher pricing over time.
Demand has matured fast
The bigger change over the last two decades has been the buyer pool. What used to be a niche ignored by mainstream capital is now tracked, brokered, and competed over by serious investors and institutional money.
Proof points you can verify
Recent market reporting shows manufactured housing deals rebounded after a quieter stretch, with pricing commonly discussed on a “per space” basis and cap rates sitting in the mid range that institutional buyers understand. For example, Northmarq reported a first-half 2025 jump in sales velocity, with average cap rates around 5.9% and a median price around $45,500 per space.
And the headline transactions are no longer folklore. In December 2024, Brookfield was reported to have sold nearly 80 mobile home parks to multiple buyers for about $1.6 billion. In September 2025, multiple outlets reported Brookfield talks to buy Yes! Communities in a deal discussed at over $10 billion.
Putting supply and demand together
This is the part most investors miss when they only look at a trailing cap rate. If a product is hard to create, and the buyer base keeps widening, pricing pressure tends to move in one direction.
A clean way to think about it:
- A limited, slow-changing supply supports values because replacement is difficult.
- A deeper buyer pool raises competition for the best communities.
- Operational stability in well-run parks makes them easier to underwrite, which pulls in more capital.
How this results in opportunity
If you can find a mobile home park with good fundamentals – and even if you just sit there and raise rents in-line with inflation – you will look like a genius as values continue to rise due to the supply vs. demand reality. It has nothing to do with being an “evil” landlord like the media claims, or an uber-genius in marketing, or a housing visionary. You are simply a smart investor who understands the power of the famous “moat” that Warren Buffett has raved about for decades.
Conclusion
Scarcity is not a slogan in mobile home parks. It is structural. Communities are tough to add, and some disappear every year through redevelopment. Meanwhile, demand has become more institutional, more competitive, and more price-aware, as shown by recent pricing metrics and large portfolio transactions.
That combination is a major reason values have climbed over time, and why serious investors keep studying this niche.