The two questions I receive most are 1) How much can I sell my mobile home for? which is quickly followed by 2) What options do I have to sell my mobile home? We answered the second question in a blog post called "Ways to Sell Your Mobile Home." That post explains the top 5 options you have, as a mobile home owner, to sell your mobile home.
There are pros and cons to every option, but no matter which one you choose, you should always get a free quote from Mobile Bye Bye even if you don't decide to sell using that option. This is by far the quickest way to answer the question, "how much can I sell my mobile home for?"
Below, I will list out the three main things to factor in when calculating a real number for how much you can sell your mobile home for: Condition, Comps, and Climate (of the current market).
No Two Mobile Homes Are the Same
Even brand new mobile homes that are built exactly the same, with the same number of beds and baths and features, will have two very different prices depending on where they are installed. Typically, mobile homes on land will be priced higher than those in a park. And the price of a mobile home in a park will change significantly depending on which park it is located in. Even mobile homes within the same exact park will change in price depending on location within the park!
1) Condition
Age / Depreciation
The biggest factor to pricing your mobile home is factoring in the age. This is because mobile homes depreciate every year they are lived in. A new mobile home will depreciate up to 20% from its new sale price when being sold as a used mobile home. This means a home bought new for $100,000 will only sell used for $80,000.
The home will continue to depreciate roughly 5% each year after that. When trying to determine how much you can sell your mobile home for, we recommend starting with the sale price and subtracting 20% + 5% for each year of age. For example, if you paid $100,000 for a home 5 years ago, it would likely sell for no more than $100,000 − $40,000 = $60,000 even if it's in pristine condition.
For a deeper dive into depreciation rates, read our article on manufactured home depreciation.
Core Components
In our blog post, "5 Things to Do Before Putting Your Mobile Home on the Market," we explain the difference between core components and visible components. Core components include big-ticket items like air conditioner, heater, roof, foundation, electrical, plumbing, septic, etc.
If these items need repair, you have to subtract 100% of the repair cost from the value of your home. Buyers will often quote big-ticket items out before buying. Therefore, it's best to subtract the full cost of core components that need repair. Don't have any repairs on big-ticket items? Great! Don't subtract anything and move to visible components.
Visible Components
Visible components are items that are not core to the structure and function of your home but are still visible, and therefore very important to an end buyer. Cabinets, for example, are very visible and very important to end buyers. Even if the entire home is in great condition, if visible repairs are needed, an end buyer will expect to pay less.
However, you don't need to subtract the entire cost of these repairs from your purchase price. For example, if a home needs $1,000 worth of new paint, you may only need to subtract a portion from the sale price.
2) Comps
"Comp" is short for comparable homes. This is by far the most used tool by realtors when pricing homes. This works well for stick-built homes in neighborhoods. However, using comps is a little trickier with mobile homes. The main reason is because mobile home parks typically include homes that span many years, sometimes decades. A new mobile home in a park may sit next to one that's 10 years old—this would not be a fair comp.
So it's important to find a mobile home that has sold and is the same year, condition, location, and situation as your mobile home. Use that as a comparison.
Mobile Homes Located on Land
Mobile homes attached to land, and sold with land, are by far the most valuable. If you have a mobile home on land, you're not just selling the mobile home but also selling the land that goes with it. It's very important not to compare your mobile home on land to a mobile home in a park—the price difference will be significant even for the same home.
However, apples-to-apples comps are often harder to find with mobile homes on land. You will want to make sure any comp you find is the same size, year, layout, county, school district, and acreage at minimum.
Mobile Homes Located in a Mobile Home Park
Mobile homes located in a mobile home park are worth significantly less than homes on land, but comps can often be easier to find. Just make sure you find a home that is the same year, condition, and layout.
Mobile Homes That Need to Be Moved
This may be bad news if you have a mobile home that needs to be moved, but these homes have the lowest value of all situations. This is because of the great amount of work required to move your mobile home. This step alone will significantly lower the number of potential buyers.
3) Climate (of Current Market)
Finally, the climate of the current market will significantly impact the sale of your mobile home and therefore the price. Recessions, interest rates, and overall market conditions all have positive and negative effects on real estate.
For a rule of thumb, you may consider moving your home price up or down anywhere from 5–15% depending on climate conditions:
- Lots of homes for sale but low interest rates? You may only subtract 5%
- High interest rates and rising unemployment? You may need to subtract 10–15%
- Economy booming and your city is growing? You may need to add 10% to the value
Practical Steps: How to Quickly Determine Your Home's Value
Step 1: Find Comps
Identify sold comps in the same park, or within 5 miles if your home is on land, that are the exact same size and exact same year. This will be your starting price.
Step 2: Subtract Depreciation
Subtract depreciation based on the number of years from the manufacture date. Subtract 20% + approximately 5% times the number of years old. For example, subtract approximately 40% for a 5-year-old home.
Step 3: Subtract Repair Costs
Subtract 100% of any core component repairs and only about 25% of any non-core but visible component repairs.
Step 4: Factor in Market Climate
A recession, high days on market, large number of properties for sale, and high interest rates will all make it harder to sell and may bring the price down. However, if the economy is booming, days on market are low, there's high demand in your area, and interest rates are low, the price could increase.
Want to know the actual "As-Is" price for your mobile home today? Skip the guesswork and get a free quote from Mobile Bye Bye. Call us at 737-214-0172.