Even in Southwest Florida's housing slump, the manufactured home industry is making it.
"We're not where we'd like to be but there's a continual improvement as time goes by," said Bruce Edwards, area sales manager of Hometown America, owner of Del Tura Country Club and Tara Woods manufactured home communities in North Fort Myers.
At Del Tura, which still has about 50 of 1,300 lots left to build on, the company is actually putting up houses - a rarity for any type of construction in Lee County right now.
The market for manufactured homes is seeing an uptick statewide, said Mike Wnek, who's public relations chairman for the Florida Manufactured Housing Association, which represents park owners.
Manufactured Housing Institute statistics show that "There were 2,334 (manufactured) homes shipped in Florida in 2009," said Wnek, who's vice president of Palm Harbor Homes in Plant City. "We're on a pace now to be at about 2,600 in 2010."
Shipments in the state reached their peak at 20,246 in 1998, and were 17,750 in 2005 when the housing market as a whole was at its peak, according to the institute.
Wnek credits the federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers, which allowed many people to sell their homes and buy a manufactured one. The tax credit, which ended May 1, provides qualifying taxpayers with as much as $8,000 to buy a new home.
For most, it's a lifestyle choice, he said. "They've decided not to be a slave to their house. Instead of putting that money into a house, they're putting it into traveling - they're putting it into doing things for their children, their grandchildren."
Moving into a manufactured home can cost a lot or a little, said Dave Shutts, an associate at North Fort Myers-based Palm City Brokers, which brokers sales for manufactured-home owners.
"We sell mostly in parks where you own the land," he said. "Values have come down. There are affordable homes."
For a well-maintained home with land in a good park, he said, expect to pay $55,000 to $70,000. For a manufactured home in a park where residents lease their lots from the park, $5,000 to $15,000 would be more typical.
Edwards said new manufactured homes can be basic models ranging up to those that have "all the bells and whistles" such as double-pane windows, larger bathrooms and tile floors.
People who like manufactured-home communities generally like the wide range of activities that comes with a large number of people in close proximity, he said. "It's almost like living in a resort."
Edwards said that when residents find their health failing, they often decide to leave and go to live with relatives but "find themselves just sitting around. Sometimes, they come back."
