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I think we already have the future of housing: mobile homes. With remote work gaining acceptance, location will lose its premium for many. Socially we have par

I think we already have the future of housing: mobile homes. With remote work gaining acceptance, location will lose its premium for many. Socially we have pared down our living arrangements to small nuclear families if that, which can fit in a mobile home. Mobile homes offer better protection against deterioration of a real estate or job market, and also better opportunities for moving to a growing market. Mobility is in the name. Trailer parks have a bad rap because of classism. But the less well-off are often trailblazers because they need to make things work with less. The mobile homes of tomorrow need not be run-down single-wides. They could be more luxurious and larger if broken apart into components. I think this is mostly a marketing and image problem which is only starting to change, mostly because of cost-of-land pressures.

toast0 5y ago
> Mobile homes offer better protection against deterioration of a real estate or job market, and also better opportunities for moving to a growing market. Mobility is in the name. Mobility is in the name, but not in reality. Once you install a mobile home, it's expensive and unlikely to move it and install it somewhere else. It's better to call these buy their new name, manufactured homes, which eliminates the misconception from having mobile in the name. Now, that doesn't mean they couldn't be the future of housing, but it doesn't seem to be what developers are building or what people are buying when they've got choices. I think the cost difference vs a wood framed house built on site doesn't make up for the lack of flexibility.
- bradleyjg 5y ago
  A few people have made this point in this thread. There’s still actual trailers (“RV”) though, which is what the grandparent poster meant.
- handrous 5y ago
  > Mobility is in the name, but not in reality. "Mobile" wasn't in the name, originally. "Mobile" (Alabama) was.
  - 0xffff2 5y ago
    I so want this to be true, but a quick skim of Wikipedia makes me think it's unlikely.
gnopgnip 5y ago
Condo style mobile home ownership is an alternative to renting a lot that fixes a lot of the problems with mobile home parks

toast0 5y ago

> Mobile homes offer better protection against deterioration of a real estate or job market, and also better opportunities for moving to a growing market. Mobility is in the name. Mobility is in the name, but not in reality. Once you install a mobile home, it's expensive and unlikely to move it and install it somewhere else. It's better to call these buy their new name, manufactured homes, which eliminates the misconception from having mobile in the name. Now, that doesn't mean they couldn't be the future of housing, but it doesn't seem to be what developers are building or what people are buying when they've got choices. I think the cost difference vs a wood framed house built on site doesn't make up for the lack of flexibility.

bradleyjg 5y ago
A few people have made this point in this thread. There’s still actual trailers (“RV”) though, which is what the grandparent poster meant.
handrous 5y ago
> Mobility is in the name, but not in reality. "Mobile" wasn't in the name, originally. "Mobile" (Alabama) was.
- 0xffff2 5y ago
  I so want this to be true, but a quick skim of Wikipedia makes me think it's unlikely.

gnopgnip 5y ago

Condo style mobile home ownership is an alternative to renting a lot that fixes a lot of the problems with mobile home parks