Whether he actually lives in it or not, Elon Musk has a $50,000 prefab tiny home in Texas.

The SpaceX and Tesla Inc. CEO said he has a Boxabl home, but the house he stays in most often is a $45,000 "small, tiny" house in South Texas.

"I'm in love with the place and have done a lot with the place," Musk said, noting that he uses the Boxabl folding house as a guesthouse.

Although the world's richest many can afford to live wherever he wants, Musk may be onto something that could help regular people escape skyrocketing housing costs.

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The U.S. faces a shortage of roughly 3.8 million housing units, which is causing a reassessment of housing options beyond single-family and multifamily homes. Manufactured homes stand out because of their lower production costs and quick assembly.

About 50,000 manufactured homes were shipped during the first seven months of 2023, according to Marcus & Millichap's second-half report on manufactured home communities. The count was down year over year, likely because strict zoning laws and other land-use preferences are prohibiting new manufactured home communities from being established.  

Metropolitan areas with expanding populations have seen declining lot vacancy rates in manufactured home communities. The South and Mountain West regions have the five metros expected to grow the fastest this year. Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Austin, Texas; Phoenix; and Atlanta each expect to welcome more than 50,000 new residents this year.

But finding a place to put manufactured homes is challenging. The lot vacancy rate nationally was below 6% through the end of 2022, and most metros outside of the Midwest — the only region that had lot vacancy over 6% — are on track to maintain that trend during the second half of 2023.

With high inflation over the past few years eating away at retirement savings, age-restricted communities also are seeing the value of manufactured housing. Over the past decade, the 55-plus population has grown by nearly 17%, compared to a 5% increase in total population.

The 55-plus age group surpassed 100 million people in 2022 and is on track to add 5.5 million residents through 2028. The five metros expecting the largest 55-plus population increases are in the Mountain West, Gulf Coast and Southeast. 

"An aging cohort and subsequent demand for affordable seniors housing will allow lot vacancy in age-restricted manufactured home communities to be tight long term," according to the Marcus & Millichap report.

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