After spending their second year at Rillito Raceway Park, members of the Tucson area’s Manufactured Housing Industry Association are sure they’ve found the right place for their annual show.

With attendance running ahead of last year, they’re also optimistic that 2006 will be another upbeat year for sales. All they need is continued consumer demand, enough available land and a cooperative lending and regulatory environment, and for now, they’re expecting the best.

Thirteen retailers and builders, displaying 15 manufactured homes, along with several lenders and accessory manufacturers, turned out for the 2006 event, which attracted between 600 and 2,500 people each day, March 17-26.

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Displaying the latest features and most deluxe floor plans available, the show again served as the industry’s premier opportunity to put their best foot forward with prospective home buyers, including the approximately 200 who put down deposits on models during the event. It also served to set the pace for the months ahead, creating interest and providing leads that retailers say will sustain them as they go forward into the peak spring and summer sales season.

“Traffic this year has been fabulous,” said Karen Mackenzie, president of the MHIA Tucson chapter, “and it bodes well for what’s to come. Already, we’ve noticed an increase in shipping in Arizona, with factories operating at capacity.”

Riding a predicted increase in interest in manufactured homes, due to soaring site-built home values, she said potential buyers are looking at what’s available that fits their budget or will offer them a chance to convert their equity into a mortgage-free home.

“With home prices skyrocketing, a lot of people who would have been site-built home buyers are now taking a look at buying something larger on acreage rather than a small home on a small lot in the city,” Mackenzie said. “Others have a home and are looking at moving further out, or taking their equity to buy something for cash. Either way, we’re seeing the benefit.”

Tom Darby, housing consultant for Cavco Homes’ retail division, said, public interest has been improving over the last several year, and this year looks even better for the industry, which has been in a slump since the late 1990s. However, if more buyers are coming, they’re still from only a segment of the available market.

“For the most part, we’re seeing both young families and seniors, with little in between. We’re especially starting to see a lot of baby boomers, who are looking for a change.”

Show Chairman Mike Snyder, president of dealer Mesquite Canyon Homes, said among those who have attended, “The reaction is very positive, especially among those who aren’t familiar with what manufactured homes offer, today.”

He said, “They’re the total opposite of the old trailer mentality, which is what a lot of people still expect. They’re large homes with a lot of value per square foot and the same features you can find in a site-built home, only for less money.”

While inroads into the middle-aged buying market remains limited, Snyder said concern about devaluation has meant that private land has all but replaced the mobile home community as the site of choice for buyers.

Snyder said, “We work with realtors and lenders who specialize in manufactured home and land packages, which is what everyone wants,” he said. “People want homes to appreciate in value which means they’ll continue to prefer to go with land, either vacant acreage or some place with an older mobile home that they can swap out.”

Antagonism by government agencies concerned about “wildcat subdivisions” are an obstacle to locating in some areas, such as Santa Cruz County, he said, “but I don’t see people changing their minds about wanting to do this. They’ll simple go where they’re able to buy land.”

He said, “I don’t see a problem with it, either.” If counties are concerned about access and services, such as water or sewer, they should regulate to meet these requirements. “However, I can’t see how blading the desert, putting everyone close together and charging $250,000 per home is a benefit to anyone.”

Working with the City of Tucson, Mackenzie said manufactured home dealers and lenders are proposing infill projects on several small city-owned lots. She said, “We’re in the very preliminary stages of talks with the city’s planning a development staff, but we’re hopeful that something can be arranged.”

If the Tucson project is successful, Pima County may also be approached for similar infill developments, “because there are a lot of vacant lots out there that could be providing a lot of housing.”

Mackenzie said the need for low-income housing is making the choice of manufactured homes for these sites the preferable choice, “Since they can sell for under $110,000 while a site built would be twice as expensive. If you’re concern is maintaining housing affordability, this is a good way to do it.”

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