July 6, 2005
Not exactly trailer trash
The million-dollar double-wide, courtesy of America’s house-price bubble:
MALIBU, Calif. — The crazy California real estate market has come to this: a million-dollar trailer.
A two-bedroom, two-bathroom mobile home perched on a lot in Malibu is selling for $1.4 million. This isn’t a greedy seller asking a ridiculous amount no one will pay. Two others sold in the area recently for $1.3 million and $1.1 million. Another, at $1.8 million, is in escrow. Nearby, another lists for $2.7 million.
As USA Today points out, this is an even worse deal than it sounds. Trailer buyers don’t own the land, have to pay rent ($2,700 a month for the $1.4 million trailer), and can’t get mortgages. So why buy?
The $1.4 million trailer is in a gated, guarded community with a shared tennis court and panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean. It also is on a larger-than-usual “triple-wide” lot … But, it’s still a trailer with a modest kitchen and faux wood floors. Many still have trailer hitches attached.
Which is why developers are trying to redefine the market:
Janet Levine at Maliblue Holdings has bought several old homes and is installing high-end “mobile villas” to put up for sale. Levine and others bristle at the term “trailer.” To be permitted in the park, the home must be perched on piers (a high-end version of up on blocks).
Posted by Stephen at 11:25 AM in Economics | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
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