In Maine's tight housing market, sales of modular homes soar
Photo / Jessica Hall
Modular homes, such as the one pictured here, can be faster and more affordable to get in Maine's tight housing market.
The high cost and tight inventory of existing homes on the market, as well as the escalating costs of building a custom house from scratch, has triggered a surge in sales of modular homes in Maine.
“They are somewhat more affordable and quicker than a stick-built house that’s built from the bottom up,” said Forrest Bryant, general manager of Ralph’s Homes, a modular and manufactured home dealer in Waldoboro.
The traditional housing market has been on a tear in Maine, with the statewide median sales price reaching $299,000 for 2021, a rise of 16.8%, according to Maine Listings. The tight inventory of homes on the market and the price increases have prompted buyers to look elsewhere, such as modular homes.
Manufacturers build 90% of modular homes in a factory, then deliver it in pieces to the site. Modular homes take about three to four weeks to finish on site once the home is delivered, Bryant said.
Modular homes can be at least 20% cheaper than a similar stick-built house. The average cost to build a modular home nationally was about $230,000 in 2020, according to the Modular Home Builders Association. That compared to the average cost to build a stick-built home of more than $296,000 in 2020, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
In Maine, the average cost fluctuates but can be somewhat higher than the national average because of labor costs, said Kim Bolduc, president of E.M. Wood Construction Inc. in Boothbay.
An additional factor has been the escalating price of land, said Bolduc, especially in coastal communities.
"Everything in real estate has gone up, even land. People are being priced out of the market and affordable options are very hard to find," Bolduc said.
A waiting list for buyers
The surge of home buyers has meant a backup for buyers of modular homes.
“A lot of people are relocating from the big cities. A lot of people are moving here from out-of-state — from Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York. There’s a big demand for housing across the board right now. Unfortunately, we’re struggling with availability. There’s about a four to five month wait once an order has been placed,” Bryant said.
“Our sales would be even higher if we had the availability,” Bryant said.
Ralph’s sells a range of home options, from 1,200-square-foot manufactured homes, or mobile homes, to three-bedroom, two-bath modular homes.
In Maine, modular homes sales totaled 352 from January through October of 2021, which is the most recent data available from the state Office of Professional and Financial Regulation. That was up 25.7% over the full-year of 2020. The full year-to-year comparisons are expected to show an even greater jump, modular home dealers said.
Meanwhile, the state saw a 7.5% drop in manufactured homes, or mobile homes. In the first 10 months of 2021, there were 578 mobile homes built compared to the full-year of 2020 number of 625 homes.
Richard Bradstreet, executive director of the Manufactured Housing Association of Maine, said modular and manufactured homes still are seeing some of the same issues as stick-built custom homes: a workforce shortage and supply chain problems. The trade group represents companies that build and sell manufactured homes and modular homes, as well as those who develop manufactured housing communities.
The difficulty in getting homes built from scratch has pushed many people to look at modular homes that have become more sophisticated and customized in recent years. Surging home prices in the custom home market also has prompted buyers to consider modular homes, Bradstreet said.
“They can build a wide variety of housing while still remaining affordable and faster than stick built,” Bradstreet said. “They would be selling even more if they could get them. There’s big demand and pretty sophisticated homes out there, but there’s waiting lists.”
Bryant said many of his customers also include locals who sold their homes to out-of-staters and took the profits from their escalating home sale price to buy a fresh, new modular home. Empty-nesters also have been drawn to mobile or modular homes with less space and upkeep, he said.
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