Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 3, 1993 TAG: 9309030418
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ZINIE CHEN ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
But the couple opted not to build on their 7-acre plot in Virginia's Powhatan County. Instead, they purchased a three-bedroom, two-bathroom mobile home and moved in early this year.
"It was exactly what I wanted," said Estelle Yarbrough, 65. "It's more convenient than a regular home . . . and less expensive than building a new home."
A growing number of Americans have made similar choices in the last few years, dramatically boosting sales of so-called manufactured housing. The biggest single factor is the rising cost of housing, says Kim McConnell, at Chesapeake Mobile Homes Inc. in Richmond.
"People are tired of waking up every morning and having to make $1,000 house payments," she said. "It's cheaper per square foot. It's very low maintenance. You can get any option in it that you want."
McConnell's units cost between $29,000 and $50,000, and range in size from 900 square feet to 2,000 square feet.
Nationwide, sales of manufactured housing rose 25 percent in 1992, according to the Arlington-based Manufactured Housing Institute. This year's sales are expected rise by 25 percent to 30 percent, according to the trade group.
Census Bureau figures show that 170,713 mobile homes were sold in 1991, or 25 percent of all sales of new housing. Mobile-home sales increased to 210,787 units in 1992, or about 26 percent of new home sales.
Much of the boom is occurring in the South.
As with site-built housing, plunging mortgage rates - now at the lowest levels in a generation - are helping boost sales. And fewer people are willing to rent apartments.
Said John Tuccillo, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors: "The market's driven by lower-priced sales. Folks who have wanted to be homeowners were priced out of the market. Now they're buying at the lower end of the spectrum.
"The urge to become a homeowner is a strong urge in most American families," he said. "In many cases it's only reachable through manufactured homes."
Rosemary Goss, an associate professor of housing at Virginia Tech, says most mobile-home residents choose their housing for convenience and low cost.
"What they didn't like, however, was the limited size, lack of storage and poor insulation," said Goss, who conducted focus groups with mobile-home residents in Southwest Virginia as part of a regional study.
Despite those drawbacks, improvement in the quality of mobile homes is helping fuel buyer interest.
\ WHAT LOCAL DEALERS AND MANUFACTURERS SAY\ \ Bob Adkins, sales manager, Fleetwood Homes of Virginia, Rocky Mount, a unit of Riverside, Calif., Fleetwood Enterprises Inc., the nation's largest mobile-home manufacturer: "We're running at full production. We have an 8 1/2-week backlog on deliveries. We're adding 60 people on a second shift and expect a record year."
Warren Vestal, manager, Oakwood Homes, Roanoke: "We've had nine consecutive record quarters. The growth for us has been more like 50 to 60 percent."
Greg Bullion, executive vice president, Pilot Homes, Christiansburg: "Last year we had the best year ever, and it's been hectic since June. We can build them as big as people can afford them. We're going into triple-wides next year."
- PAT BROWN
by CNB