Mobile homes are enjoying a return to their 80s heyday, with sales going through the roof as people seek to avoid airport chaos by holidaying in Ireland.
Wallace Mobile Homes, from New Ross, Co Wexford, said inquiries were also flooding in from people looking for new homes as a way out of the housing crisis – but most were unable to find a permanent site on which to put one.
Managing director Philip Wallace said the business has enjoyed ‘exponential growth’ in recent years and mobile homes were now returning to the peak levels of popularity which they had enjoyed in the 1980s, when most people holidayed at home.
He said: ‘The return of those times is actually in the here and now as we have seen a whole new appreciation for having a bolthole at home and multiple generations of families coming together to purchase a luxury mobile home.
‘People realized during the pandemic what was on their doorsteps in terms of holidays and that has continued. It’s not easy to fly anywhere at the moment and it’s not getting any cheaper to go abroad.
‘What’s also happening is that we are seeing three generations coming together in the parks. Grandparents are buying a mobile home, and their children, who are probably up to their necks in mortgages, are coming along with the grandchildren. Or they are all buying into it together. We are also seeing a growing number of people purchasing residential spec mobile homes for permanent accommodation and this is growing rapidly due to the national housing crisis.
‘But while we do get a lot of people making inquiries about housing, many don’t have anywhere to put one. The demand is there but the sites are not.’
He said people hoping to live out of a mobile home permanently, and away from an established mobile home park, must check with their local council about planning permission requirements.
New mobile homes can cost between €50,000 and €170,000, Mr Wallace said, with second-hand homes priced from €20,000 and up for a mobile home with double glazing, central heating and a tiled roof. A site at a holiday home can be rented from between €2,000 and €6,000 a year, depending on the location.
Earlier this year, one mobile home made headlines when it was offered for sale on Daft.ie for €425,000.
The mobile had four bedrooms, two bathrooms and was on an upmarket golf and country club with a beach – the Tara Glen club in Ballymoney, Co Wexford.
The listing said that since the COVID pandemic hit, the ‘demand for mobiles has been high and the number for sale low’.
However, the purchase also included a partial ownership share in the mobile park and golf course, which may have partially explained the huge price tag.