Homebuyers fill waiting list for homes coming to Paulden.
The homes sold out six days before they were to be placed on the market, and more than 200 people showed interest in seeing the models even after the homes were sold.
Southwest Homes owner Jon Rocha takes pride in the manufactured homes, saying that manufactured homes are built much better than they used to be.
The one-acre, three-bedroom, two-bathroom homes in Chino Valley sold in the $350,000 to $400,000 range. Rocha calls the five homes a micro-community and emphasized that they are more affordable than new stick-built homes that are commonly selling for at least $200,000 more.
“We are the most affordable option,” he said. “We have always been the most affordable, but now we’re more comparable to site-built homes in value and benefits.”
Rocha said these manufactured homes give working class people a chance to reach the American dream. He said four of the five homes were sold to young couples and one was sold to a retiree from out of state. With rents averaging $1,600 to $1,800 per month, people will pay about that or less for the mortgages for these manufactured homes, he said. “It’s the only housing that’s not being gobbled up by people from out of state.”
He says today’s higher quality of manufactured homes takes away the stigma of having a manufactured home, as they now have stem walls and meet much higher standards than in the past.
“The quality is there that wasn’t there a decade ago,” he said. “They have insulation comparable to site-built homes. They have traditional site-built features. A lot of the appliances used to not be up to standards, but now they are. The water heaters weren’t standard, but now they are.”
The new manufactured homes also have vinyl flooring. “The flooring is intact for the long haul,” he said.
The Chino Valley homes are 1,500 to 1,800 square feet and will have their own septic and private wells. The properties can have horses and other domestic animals.
The planned manufactured homes in Paulden, which are not available yet, will be on two-acre lots.
Rocha hopes to bring more manufactured homes to Chino Valley in the future, but added that may depend on what needs to be rezoned. “It’s a challenge. Either there’s no land or it’s way too expensive.”
Rocha already has a waiting list for the planned homes in Paulden and possible future homes in Chino Valley.
The interest in manufactured homes underscores the immense shortage of housing inventory in the Quad Cities area, he said. “People are outbidding others and going above the asking price to get in there.” QCBN
By Stan Bindell, QCBN
