Mobile Homes Are So Expensive Now, Hurricane Victims Can’t Afford Them
Judy Goff in what used to be the living room of her mobile home in Riviera Colony, a community in Naples, Fla., on Oct. 30.
Photographer: Scott McIntyre/Bloomberg
Hurricane victims emerging from ravaged trailer parks are discovering that the U.S. mobile-home market has left them behind. In Florida and Texas, dealerships are swarmed by buyers looking to rebuild their lives after hurricanes Harvey and Irma, but many leave disappointed.
The industry, led by Warren Buffett’s Clayton Homes Inc., is peddling such pricey interior-designer touches as breakfast bars and his-and-her bathroom sinks. These extras, plus manufacturers’ increased costs for labor and materials, have pushed average prices for new double-wides up more than 20 percent in five years, putting them out of reach for many of the newly homeless.