This is the second national rent survey of manufactured home landlease communities. Forty-one states are profiled in this survey, and statistics are based on data gathered for the 10th Annual Allen Report during the fall of 1998. Seven hundred multi-property portfolio owner/operators of manufactured home communities were sent questionnaires; close to 200 responded, 76 of whom shared state-specific homesite rent range data upon which this second annual review is based.

Figure 1 is the actual tally sheet upon which the state-specific site rent ranking list (see figure 2) is based. In the first instance, states are listed alphabetically. The number of companies that reported properties in the various states is important. The greater the number of respondent companies, the more rent rate data there is to consider. For example, 16 firms reported Florida rents ranging from $140 to $361 per month. However, the actual number of properties represented was close to 240, as each firm reported its portfolio average in that state and each of the reporting firms has an average portfolio size of 15 communities apiece.

Figure 1

Where possible, the arithmetic average (three or more reporting firms) and the arithmetic mean was calculated. The ranking chart (figure 2) was per arithmetic average of “rent average” and “rent mean” figures per state. Where reasons for exceptionally wide dollar spreads were known, (i.e., in Illinois), possible reasons are listed in the notes column.

Keep in mind that rent rates may be a little higher than the overall average of all such properties in any given state. Why? The majority of respondents own larger manufactured home communities (230 sites is average size per community) and, for the most part, are managed by professional investment supervisors committed to maximizing the profitability of their portfolio. Few small (less than 100 sites) properties are included here. Also, no effort was made to specify which rents include water and sewer service charges. That will be addressed in future research.

The rent review tells an interesting story. Rents range among the reported states from a low of $95 per month in Alabama to a high of $739 in California. The present national average rent for manufactured home communities appears to be $244 per month, up 6 percent from last year, and arithmetic mean at $256 per month. Where is your property relative to these state and national benchmarks?

Another interesting comparison to make is matching these site rent review figures against prevailing local market rent rates for typical three bedroom townhouse apartments. It has been this researcher’s experience that a 1 to 2.5 ratio exists. For example, a $244/month rent rate average for manufactured home communities often compares with a $610/month for the largest and nicest apartment units in the same market area. This is one rule of thumb to gauge rental housing balance in a given locale.