Apples for Health- In hard times, mobile homes look better

In hard times, mobile homes look better

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- The economic slump and the puncturing of the housing bubble in the United States could be good for at least one industry, the manufacture of mobile homes.

There was a slight uptick in the business last year, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The number of mobile home loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration rose almost 14 percent to 1,569.

There is anecdotal evidence that people who want to own a home but can't get a mortgage or find a conventional house, and those losing houses to foreclosure, are considering mobile homes, also known as trailers or, in the industry's favored term, manufactured homes.

"We're experiencing more people that are coming in that are basically coming from situations where foreclosure situations, they can't afford a traditional house, they just don't have the credit," said Mac McCoy, a salesman at Bropfs Mobile Home Sales near St. Louis. "We've seen an extra 10 (percent) to 15 percent in that category. We expect that to increase. I don't see how it could not go up."