The Manufactured Housing Investment Thesis Driving FG Communities' Rapid Expansion

Written by:

Steve Marcinuk

Date:

03 Jul 2025

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The manufactured housing sector has emerged as one of the most attractive investment opportunities in today’s real estate landscape, driven by a shortage of affordable housing and demographic shifts favoring the Southeast. At the forefront is FG Communities, which has completed 50 acquisitions since its February 2022 founding, with another dozen deals set to close within 60 days.

The investment thesis centers on a fundamental economic principle that Michael Anise, CEO and Co-Founder of FG Communities, describes: “There is always the basic economic formula of supply and demand. There is no shortage of demand for affordable housing anywhere you look in the country today, and this is by far the most affordable housing option that folks can get into that’s not subsidized by the government.”

A Proven Leadership Team with Strategic Vision

FG Communities was founded by a team with deep experience in finance and real estate. Anise, an accountant by trade, brings expertise from several public companies and a prior role growing and taking a manufactured housing firm public. His co-founders include Joe Moglia, former chairman of TD Ameritrade, and Kyle Cerminara, a former T. Rowe Price fund manager. Their combined expertise in capital markets, operations, and growth has enabled rapid acquisitions.

The Supply-Demand Imbalance Creating Investment Opportunity

Manufactured housing benefits from a unique dynamic: demand continues to grow while supply remains constrained. Unlike other real estate, new development faces regulatory barriers. “You can’t build any more mobile home parks,” Anise notes. “It’s truly something that’s diminishing in supply, and the value of our portfolio increases every day because it’s something that’s diminishing in supply but ever-increasing in demand.”

This scarcity premium is pronounced in the Southeast, FG Communities’ focus, where population growth follows migration from higher-cost Northeast and West Coast areas as companies expand in states like North and South Carolina.

Recession-Resilient Performance Characteristics

Historical data supports the defensive nature of manufactured housing during downturns. Anise points to the performance of manufactured housing REITs: “If you look at any time there was an economic downturn or a recession, their occupancies went through the roof, and even rental rates have gone up. Imagine going through a recession and you’re increasing your rates.”

Counter-cyclical performance stems from the sector’s affordability. During downturns, residents downsize but don’t want to sacrifice quality of life. Manufactured housing offers single-family home characteristics—private yards, parking, no shared walls—at a fraction of traditional housing costs. Residents can purchase a brand new two-to-three bedroom manufactured home of over 1,000 square feet for $40,000 to $50,000. “For the same square footage, same number of bedrooms, even an apartment or townhome or small single family home, you’re looking at $400,000 or $500,000,” he explains.

The Land-Lease Model’s Operational Advantages

FG Communities uses a land-lease model: residents own their homes and pay lot rent. This structure brings several advantages.

Tenant retention is high. “The average tenant in our communities stays for over 17 years,” Anise reports. “A lot of them just pass it on to a relative or friend when they do leave.” This stability reduces turnover costs and vacancy rates.

The operator’s maintenance responsibilities and capital expenditures are limited. “It’s a great margin business when you just maintain the land and infrastructure with pretty low overhead compared to when you own the homes and have to spend money and time maintaining the homes,” Anise explains.

Strategic Acquisition Approach

FG Communities typically completes two acquisitions per month, focusing on communities in major metropolitan areas, ensuring both land appreciation and cash flow. Location remains the primary criterion. “When you’re talking real estate, it’s always location, location, location,” Anise emphasizes. “These communities have to be in great locations because it’s a land-hold play, land continues to appreciate while providing pretty good cash flows.”

The company also evaluates infrastructure quality to avoid properties with immediate capital needs, but does invest in post-acquisition improvements such as road paving, landscaping, signage, and gates.

Many acquisitions come from long-term family owners. “Most of our communities we buy from mom and pops that have had these communities for a long time. Some have even inherited these communities from their parents,” Anise notes. These sellers often want buyers who will maintain the communities, giving FG Communities access to off-market opportunities.

Mission-Driven Preservation Strategy

Beyond financial returns, FG Communities operates with a preservation mission. “Our mission is to preserve and improve affordable housing,” Anise states. “The preservation part is key, and that’s why we’re aggregating these communities to make sure we’re preserving them from other types of buyers that want to turn them into something else and lose that affordable option for folks.”

Many communities sit on valuable land that developers might redevelop for higher-rent uses, threatening affordable housing stock. FG invests in improvements that previous owners may not have afforded. “We’re putting in the capital expenditures that some of these mom and pops didn’t really have or couldn’t afford to do, just improving the quality of life for those tenants,” Anise explains.

Current Portfolio and Growth Trajectory

As of mid-2025, FG Communities owns approximately 50 properties with over 2,000 home sites, concentrated in the Carolinas with additional properties in Southern Virginia and plans for Georgia and Tennessee. The portfolio includes all-age and some 55-and-over communities. With 12 more deals under contract, the company’s growth trajectory remains steep.

Risk Management and Market Outlook

While manufactured housing communities offer defensive characteristics, FG Communities maintains comprehensive risk management practices. The company secures extensive insurance coverage and requires tenants to have their own insurance. Interest rate sensitivity is limited due to the company’s financing structure. “A lot of these communities are underwritten with long rents, factoring in those types of interest rates,” Anise notes.

Looking ahead, Anise sees continued opportunity for growth: “Really more of the same, and if not just ramping up even more capital raising and ramping up the acquisition for assets that we have in the pipeline. We want to see this company and our portfolio grow to 5,000, 10,000 home sites in the future.”

Investment Structure and Capital Partners

FG Communities works with diverse capital sources for expansion, including preferred equity for accredited investors, common equity, institutions, and family offices. This flexible approach supports rapid acquisitions while accommodating different investor preferences.

The manufactured housing sector’s combination of defensive characteristics, supply constraints, demographic tailwinds, and mission-driven preservation needs creates a compelling investment opportunity. For FG Communities, these factors have translated into rapid growth and a clear path toward becoming a significant player in Southeast affordable housing preservation and improvement.