As Austin residents navigate the city's real estate market, manufactured homes — also known as mobile homes — are gaining traction among potential buyers seeking an affordable path to homeownership.

A recent housing study found Austin ranks among the top 25 U.S. cities with the largest mobile home inventory. Texas, as a whole, has the second-highest share of manufactured housing in the nation.

StorageCafe's housing insights report analyzed the supply of manufactured housing inventory, average sales prices of new manufactured homes, and compared pricing trends against the median value of all housing units (regardless of construction date) across all 50 states and 100 U.S. cities.

The report's author hails manufactured housing as "a cornerstone of affordability" in the country, with just under 8 million mobile homes representing about 5.4 percent of the U.S. housing supply.

There are 776,232 manufactured homes in Texas, the report found, which is 6.2 percent of the state's entire housing stock. Austin is home to 6,184 units, which earned the city a rank as No. 21 nationally for the highest mobile home inventory.

Two Texas cities – San Antonio (No. 7) and Houston (No. 8) – ranked among the top 10 cities with the greatest supply of manufactured housing in the country. San Antonio has 11,208 mobile homes, while Houston has 10,953.

Why manufactured home living is gaining popularity
Affordability is of the main reasons Texas residents are turning to manufactured home living. The average sale price for a mobile home in Texas was $112,500 in 2024, or less than half of the median sale price for all Texas homes ($313,200).

The report specifies that the cost for a manufactured home does not include the cost of land in the same way that a conventional home does. Depending on zoning and local laws, residents who own a mobile home either lease the lot their home sits on, or they have to purchase a lot outright.

"Most manufactured homes sit either in parks (land rent, higher exposure to rent hikes or park closures) or subdivisions (you own the land)," the report said. "In some communities, resident-owned cooperatives (co-ops) allow homeowners to collectively purchase the land beneath their homes. This setup provides stability and protection against rising lot rents, which can otherwise affect those living in privately owned parks."

Nevertheless, StorageCafe maintains that the generally lower cost of a manufactured home still makes it a viable path to homeownership. Affordability is especially crucial for younger adults like Gen Zers and Millennials who also don't want to "compromise on quality or independence."

"Today’s younger buyers value flexibility, efficiency, and minimal maintenance, and many are drawn to simpler lifestyles that align with financial freedom and mobility," the report said. "With the rise of remote work, more Millennials and Gen Zers are exploring the idea of living affordably in smaller, well-designed spaces, often in communities with shared amenities or scenic settings that were once thought to appeal only to retirees."

Manufactured homes have also experienced a "glow up" in recent years, the report added. Most manufactured homes have open floor plans, "stylish interiors," and come equipped with modern amenities like smart-home technology and energy efficient features.

"As a result, they’re no longer viewed as a fallback option, but rather as a savvy, forward-thinking path to homeownership for cost-conscious Americans of all ages," the report said.

Mobile home living elsewhere in Texas
There were 11 more Texas cities that ranked among the top 100 with the highest inventory of manufactured homes. El Paso came in ahead of Austin at No. 16 with 7,089 mobile homes in the city, and Laredo ranked No. 18 with 6,785 units.

Here's how other Texas cities fared in the report:

• No. 20 – Dallas (6,195 units)
• No. 22 – Fort Worth (6,069 units)
• No. 29 – Corpus Christi (4,823 units)
• No. 34 – Pharr (4,409 units)
• No. 48 – Arlington (3,818 units)
• No. 60 – Mission (3,207 units)
• No. 65 – Bryan (3,063 units)
• No. 67 – Edinburg (3,407 units)
• No. 98 – Denton (2,441 units)