New mobile homes in Idaho are more costly than anywhere else in the nation. Here’s why
Just because mobile homes are more affordable than site-built homes doesn’t mean they’re cheap — especially in Idaho.
In fact, the cost of a new mobile home is more expensive in the Gem State than anywhere else in the country, according to a new report from Lending Tree, a North Carolina-based online lending marketplace. Can you guess how much one might cost?
The average sales price of a new mobile home in Idaho in 2022 was $168,500. That’s an 83% increase over the price in 2017, which was $92,300, the report said.
Montana and Arizona had the next highest prices, both around $160,000.
And, if you thought the cost of traditional, site-built, single-family homes had skyrocketed over the last five years, the cost of mobile homes rose even faster. The average price of a typical home sold in the U.S. rose nearly 47% between 2017 and 2022, while the average price of a mobile home rose over 77%.
The cost of a new mobile home is cheapest in Kansas, Ohio and Nebraska, where the average sales price in each in 2022 was around $101,000.
Mobile-home owners must also pay for a site to put it on, either by renting a spot in a mobile-home park or by buying land, pouring a foundation and getting utility services. The cost to transport and assemble a mobile home ranges from $2,000 to $14,000, according to homeguide.com, and renting a space in a mobile-home park could cost anywhere from $300 to $1,000 a month, depending on location and lot size.
But why are the factory-built, movable dwellings becoming much more expensive, particularly in Idaho?
Jacob Channel, senior economist at Lending Tree and author of the report, told the Idaho Statesman that all types of housing — mobile homes, site-built homes, apartments and recreational vehicles — have dramatically increased in cost over the last few years, with mobile homes being no exception.
As to why the price of mobile homes has increased faster than more traditional types of housing, he said it could speak to a shift toward more affordable types of shelter, like tiny homes. The city of Boise is testing a tiny-home pilot project.
“Mobile homes have started to become more popular as people who maybe at one point were in an area where they could afford a site-built home no longer can, because prices have risen,” Channel said by phone. “Those people might still have enough money to afford a mobile home instead.”
The average sales price of a new single family home in Idaho in 2023 was $434,224, according to Zillow.
Channel said one reason the average price of a mobile home is highest in Idaho is because residents are more willing to pay a premium for “higher-end” multi-section models, like a double-wide or a triple-wide, versus a typical single-wide, than people in other parts of the country.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s Manufactured Housing Shipment Survey shows that in 2022 a majority of mobile homes shipped to Idaho were larger, more expensive models.
Plus, it’s become more costly and logistically challenging to build mobile homes.
“You add all that together and you’re going to end up with rising prices,” Channel said.
The Lending Tree report analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau’s Manufactured Housing Survey and Survey of Construction. The surveys provide average sales prices for new manufactured homes and single-family homes sold in the U.S.
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