1 of my most loved factors about investing in authentic estate is the architecture. I love seeking at aesthetically satisfying properties. I am not by itself in positioning a benefit on how a home seems. Most Class A real estate — the optimum high quality qualities in the ideal places — tends to trade at a high quality worth when compared to significantly less fascinating attributes.

That focus on aesthetics can trigger buyers to forget attributes that have traditionally been superior investments. A single home course the place appears to be like can be deceiving is created residence communities. The sector has quietly been 1 of the best-carrying out home lessons for investors about the past two many years.

A manufactured home park with a palm tree lined street.

Image supply: Getty Illustrations or photos.

Eye-catching development

Created housing communities hire heaps to owners of made residences. Some also rent out created properties they individual. These communities are likely to produce very continual rental earnings because it is highly-priced to relocate a manufactured home to a new local community. That substantial switching charge also enables the neighborhood owner to push by annual rental will increase, even in the course of a economic downturn. Simply because of the resilient need, made house communities have shipped over-ordinary internet operating profits (NOI) development in excess of the previous two a long time:

A chart showing net operating income growth by property type since 2000.

Data source: Sun Communities investor presentation.

As that chart displays, the average made housing local community has grown its NOI at a 4.8% compound once-a-year amount since 2000. That’s second only to the self-storage field during that timeframe. It’s much more than double the level of a lot more traditional genuine estate investments like industrial, multifamily, retail, and business.

Exceptional general performance

Regardless of its resilience and outperformance, not numerous substantial-scale buyers emphasis on the sector. There are now only a few publicly traded real estate financial investment trusts (REITs) concentrated on manufactured communities. The leader is Sunlight Communities (SUI -2.89%). It owns interests in 602 made residence communities, RV parks, and marina houses across 39 states. 

Sunlight Communities’ emphasis on created housing communities has compensated massive dividends over the many years. The household REIT has developed its similar group NOI at a 5% compound yearly fee due to the fact 2000, outperforming the sector and all other serious estate assets lessons. The business has supplemented its organic and natural development with a consolidation strategy. It has steadily acquired manufactured housing communities and other off-the-beaten-route property kinds like RV parks and marinas. These catalysts have enabled the enterprise to provide outstanding complete returns when compared to other REITs and the broader industry above the earlier decade:

Charts showing Sun Community's total return verse other investments over the years.

Info supply: Sunshine Communities trader presentation.

Sunshine Communities at this time clocks in as one particular of the five very best-undertaking REITs above the last 10 years. To set its outperformance into standpoint, Sun Communities has developed a $10,000 expense created 10 yrs back into almost $65,000. That exact $10,000 expenditure in the S&P 500 would be worth significantly less than $40,000 these days.

The REIT has lots of long run growth motorists. Produced housing communities, RV parks, and marinas are nonetheless extremely fragmented industries. That provides the enterprise with a large development runway as it proceeds its consolidation technique. It not long ago entered the marina segment and has swiftly become a chief and consolidator. In the meantime, it really is entering the United kingdom holiday break property parks sector. It will be the next-premier operator in a phase exactly where the top rated 10 platforms only handle 7% of the industry.

An underappreciated actual estate financial commitment

Made property communities have sent previously mentioned-ordinary income advancement owing to their significant switching expenditures and economic downturn resiliency. That has benefited sector leader Solar Communities, which has created tremendous total returns by concentrating on consolidating this fragmented sector. It however has loads of area to grow, specifically provided its expansion into other residence sorts, generating it a REIT that buyers is not going to want to proceed overlooking.