Interest in mobile homes is growing; they are also suitable for flood-prone areas

BRNO - The so-called mobile houses are becoming increasingly popular in the Czech recreational housing market. A simple structure with several rooms, a kitchen, and sanitary facilities is placed on a chassis, and due to its mobility, it is suitable for risky areas, such as flood zones. Mobile houses are also one of the attractions at the international Caravaning 2005 exhibition, which takes place from today until Sunday at the Brno exhibition center, said event manager Michaela Zachová to ČTK.
The first mobile houses appeared in the Czech Republic about two years ago, but their popularity is slowly gaining strength, said Prague dealer of these recreational properties, Vlastimil Němec to ČTK. According to him, the popularity has been aided by American films, but primarily by French and Spanish camps that love to use mobile homes. Mobile houses with several rooms differ in size and comfort from caravans and RVs, and from recreational cabins by the possibility of quick relocation.
"Besides campground owners, buyers of mobile houses are people who have land where building is prohibited, perhaps also because it is in a flood zone," noted the dealer. No building permit is needed to install the house, only a connection to electricity and possibly gas and a septic tank or sewage.
Mobile houses are available in versions for year-round or just summer use. They also differ in size, from eight up to approximately 48 square meters of living space. Houses can also be connected into residential blocks. The cheapest version costs around more than 300,000 crowns, while the most expensive version requires a nearly two million crown investment. Most buyers thus prefer to purchase used houses imported from abroad. In the "second-hand" market for mobile homes, they can be acquired for as low as 160,000 crowns.
In contrast, in the USA, the cradle of mobile homes, the situation is entirely opposite. The interest in them is so high that their prices have soared to a historic maximum on the real estate market. For example, a mobile home with a kitchen, living room, and two bedrooms in Malibu, California is currently selling for 1.4 million dollars (about 35 million crowns). According to May data, the average price of a regular house in the USA reached 281,400 dollars (more than seven million crowns). However, prices vary significantly by location. In Malibu on the Pacific coast, the average price is 4.4 million dollars (about 110 million crowns).