The manufactured home market, toppled by low unit shipments, low unit placements, and low average unit prices, is expected to undergo a rebuilding period, posting a one percent increase to $6.0 billion by 2011, according to Manufactured (Mobile) Homes in the U.S., a new report from market research publisher SBI, a division of MarketResearch.com.

Still adjusting to normal sales volume after the spike seen in late 2005 and early 2006 due to FEMA's Hurricane Katrina-related purchases, the manufactured home market, which includes single-wide, double-wide, and triple- wide units, is expected to finish 2007 with a 21% decline in sales. SBI estimates that an excess of at least 43,000 units in the marketplace by the end of 2007 will further curtail new shipments.

Despite a dreadful "now," Manufactured (Mobile) Homes in the U.S. forecasts a turnaround in 2008, driven in part by a 14% rise in the number of unit placements, but results from that turnaround will not be evident until 2009. By then, the value of shipments is expected to reach 17% to $4.6 billion as unit shipments gain momentum and further price increases take hold. SBI expects a 16% increase to $5.4 billion in 2010 and another 10% increase in 2011, propping the market up to the $6.0 billion mark.

"The market for manufactured housing is in a tough state, to say the least," notes Tatjana Meerman, the publisher of SBI. "However, if you look deeper into the demographics of the housing market, there are long-term prospects for manufactured housing. Although home ownership reached an all-time high at 69% of households in 2004, there is an increasing need for affordable housing."