FINANCE
Greenfield vs. Brownfield Communities? By Edward Hicks
S
lugging it out with the other hundreds of investors each vying for the few reasonably priced manufactured housing properties is getting harder and harder these days. There are a finite number of existing investment-grade communities out there. And the pool is ever decreasing. With a few exceptions, in the past 25 years there have been no new non-age restricted communities built. The few that have been built are larger, 55+ communities in retirement areas or near large metros. Creating a new “greenfield” land-lease community takes more time and attention than just negotiating a contract and going through due diligence, as is the case when buying an existing community. However, with the typical leveraged internal rate of return landing between 35 and 65%, greenfield projects
44 | MARCH / APRIL 2020 • MHINSIDER.COM
