The decision to purchase a manufactured home: a nested logit model of determinants

This paper attempts to identify the drivers behind households' decision to purchase a manufactured home rather than buy a traditional house or rent. A nested logit model is estimated using recent movers' data from the national sample of the American Housing Survey 1985--2003. Explanatory factors include both housing choice attributes and movers' characteristics. The results suggest that lowering the user cost of owning a manufactured home increases the probability of choosing that type of dwelling. Compared to their high-income counterparts, low- and medium-income households are more likely to choose owning manufactured homes as a transitional stage between renting and traditional home ownership. The recent movers who previously lived in manufactured homes are more inclined to own manufactured homes. Recent movers from older age groups, who are married, from a bigger family, or from a white family, are less likely to own manufactured homes.