Manufactured Home Estates As affordable retirement housing in Australia: drivers, growth and spatial distribution

ABSTRACT Manufactured Home Estates (MHEs) are an increasingly popular type of housing for older Australians. MHEs are similar to caravan parks where an operator owns the land, and the resident owns their (technically relocatable) dwelling and pays site rent. Residents are both owners and tenants, with many receiving the age pension, or other benefits, and are entitled to receive Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA). We examine three interrelated processes encouraging the growth of MHEs as specialised housing for older Australians. First, CRA payments are promoted by operators as a form of government support that improves the affordability of MHE living, while also contributing to their own financial returns. Second, the location of properties developed by operators is in response to demand from Australia’s ageing population. Third, and related, new supply in coastal locations drives amenity retirement migration, where older people relocate to locations of natural amenity. Using data on CRA payments to residents in MHEs and permanent residents in caravan parks reveals the geographic distribution of this form of housing for older Australians.