Photo by Frank Lopez | From left, Property Manager Stacy Singletary, Family Homes owner Heidi and David Franzoni, and Property Manager Norma Molina at the ribbon cutting ecermony celebrating the completion of three manufactured homes at Rancho Fiesta mobile home park.

A Southern California manufactured home dealer recently hosted a grand opening for a new mobile home development in Visalia.

On May 2, Rancho Fiesta Mobile Estates held a ribbon cutting for phase two of its new manufactured homes by Chino-based Family Homes.

David Franzoni, CEO of Family Homes, has been dealing manufactured homes for 33 years. He founded the company with his wife, Heidi.

Phase one included construction of a whole model complex of 10 homes. Phase two includes 11 available lots in the park.

Franzoni said they will eventually build 105 new homes by the time the project is over.

He said they discovered in phase one they had to tweak their operations from what was working in Southern California. They now offer six floor plan models featuring two, three and four bedrooms.

“I’ve had so many years in the business where people say, ‘this is almost like a real home,’” Franzoni said. “I got sick and tired of hearing that.”

We now build the very best home we can build, and they are by far superior to any tract home under a million bucks that a builder would build on site,” Franzoni said.

The homes range from 800 to 1,440 square feet.

Customers are able customize several features of their homes, from the exterior color to flooring and cabinets.

The goal is to sell the homes of phase two within the month of May, he said. Phase three is expected to start in June.

The plan is to build 10- 11 homes each month, and sell all 105 homes in the next 10 months, he added.

The homes are manufactured by Skyline Homes, which is part of Michigan-based Champion Homes — one of the largest modular homebuilders in the country. They can be constructed in just under a month at the home site, Franzoni said.

The manufactured homes have a 175 year life span — far above the 30 life span of a conventional mobile home, Franzoni said.

Skyline Homes builds the home to about 60-70% completion, with about 30% of the construction completed on site by Family Homes.

Costs for homes from Family Homes range from $142,000 to $205,000.

Many of the people interested in manufactured homes are in a younger demographic, Franzoni said. A majority are between the ages of 25 and 45.

“From tariffs, to the materials needed to build homes — and our state in particular needs housing that’s affordable so desperately — and with prices going up, it’s very difficult to buy a home,” Franzoni said.

Even with increased material prices, manufacturers are able to buy in bulk, and don’t suffer loss or theft of materials during construction, Franzoni said.

It enables manufactured home builders to build more efficiently and keep costs down.

Franzoni said the celebration, which went through this past weekend, allowed people to take tours of three different models and see that affordable housing is still alive and well.

Monthly payments with 5% percent down range from about $1,700 a month to $2,100 a month.

Every part of the home is under warranty for up to seven years.

Because of the Los Angeles wildfires in January, the company has been making replacement homes for people who lost their dwellings. But the target customers are mainly families who need affordable homes, Franzoni said.

He wasn’t sure what to expect in the Central Valley, as Family Homes has faced discrimination in the past from people who perhaps don’t see their product the same a conventionally built home. But he said the need for housing and recognition of the quality of manufactured homes have shifted those attitudes.

Over the past decade, mobile home ownership has steadily increased with a 40% rise in sales, according to Don Scordino, a residential broker with Realty Concepts. Scordino described the rise as “significant.”

In the past three years, Scordino has noticed more people inquiring about mobile home ownership.

One of the biggest differences between traditional homes and mobile homes is ownership structure. In most cases, mobile home buyers purchase the mobile home as personal property while renting the land, which means they pay a monthly space rent for the lot. However, Scordino said many mobile home parks offer amenities such as swimming pools, clubhouses, and even tennis courts.

In 2024, the median price for mobile homes was around $90,000. The lowest sale was $29,000, while the most expensive sale was $180,000.

While interest in mobile homes is increasing, there has been a lack of new mobile home developments. The implementation of rent control on mobile home parks in Fresno over 30 years ago has led to a halt in the development of new parks within the city. Despite this, existing parks continue to draw interest, particularly those in desirable locations.

Looking forward, Scordino expects mobile home sales to continue to be on the rise.

“2025 is going to show an increase in the number of sales for mobile homes because they have a real affordability attraction,” Scordino said.