Flagship Communities Real Estate Investment Trust has spent $16.3 million for Woodland Acres, a 231-unit manufactured housing community in Springfield, Ill. National Director Michael Nissley from Colliers worked on behalf of the seller, a private investor. The purchase marks the REIT’s first foray into the Prairie State.
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Located at 3500 N. Dirksen Parkway on more than 50 acres, the property is a little over 3 miles from Interstate 55. Additionally, the community is less than a mile from a Walmart Supercenter and several other retail and dining choices. At the time of sale, the asset was 94 percent occupied, with monthly rents averaging $373.
Manufactured housing was among the top-performing asset types last year, according to Green Street Advisors. While other asset classes suffered from the impact of the pandemic, manufactured housing experienced a 12 percent increase in value in 2020.
With the average cost of a manufactured home amounting to just one third of the price of a single-family house or half the price of an equivalent apartment building in the same community, the sector was is seen as a viable solution to the ever-growing need for affordable housing, which only worsened since the onset of the pandemic.
