Where this data comes from
None of this came off a subscription. Our AI works the sources nobody indexes — county and assessor records, ownership filings, operator conversations, and the rent rolls and closing figures that move through our own brokerage — then reconciles them into one dataset. Most of what follows is not published anywhere, because nobody else is holding both sides of these deals.
- $782
- National average site rent
- 95%
- National occupancy
- +6.0%
- Site rent growth
- ~$52K
- Median price per pad
Monthly; $751 all-ages, $841 in 55+
97% in 55+ communities
Trailing year, all community types
Down from a ~$58K peak in 2022
The affordability gap is the demand engine
The national average site rent is $782 a month. The national average apartment runs roughly $1,740 and a single-family rental roughly $2,100. That gap is why occupancy holds through cycles, and it is widening rather than closing while site-built construction costs stay elevated.
The spread across markets is close to fifteen times. Santa Cruz County averages $3,674 a month in 55-plus communities; Lynchburg, Virginia averages $232 in all-ages. Any national average applied to a specific deal is a rounding error dressed as a benchmark.
Occupancy is structurally higher than it was a decade ago
National occupancy runs about 95%, and 97% in 55-plus communities. Ten years ago the figure was 86.5%. Almost no new pads are being entitled at scale, so supply is close to fixed while demand keeps arriving — which is the entire structural case for the asset class.
Site rents rose 6.0% over the trailing year: 6.1% in all-ages communities and 5.9% in 55-plus. Occupancy moved another 0.3% on top of that, so NOI growth is coming from both sides of the equation at once.
| State | Annual site rent growth |
|---|---|
| Colorado | +12.1% |
| Arizona | +9.8% |
| Florida | +5.5% to +11% |
| South Carolina | +6.1% |
| North Carolina | +5.8% |
| Georgia | +5.5% |
| Tennessee | +5.2% |
| Wisconsin | +4.0% to +4.8% |
Trailing-year lot rent growth in the most active acquisition markets.
Cap rates by tier, and the park-owned-home discount
The national average sits near 5.9%, roughly 40 basis points wider than 2024. Premium communities with city utilities and tenant-owned homes in growth MSAs clear 4.0% to 5.5%. Stabilized Class B in secondary markets runs 5.5% to 7.5%. Rural, master-metered communities below 80% occupancy sit at 7% to 10% and higher.
Within any tier, park-owned-home-heavy communities price 25 to 50 basis points wider than comparable tenant-owned ones. The income looks identical on a rent roll and does not underwrite the same, because you have inherited a housing maintenance business alongside a land lease.
Average site rent by market
Markets ordered by average monthly site rent.
| Market | Segment | Avg site rent |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 55+ | $3,674 |
| Orange County, CA | All-ages | $2,155 |
| Sonoma County, CA | 55+ | $2,000 |
| San Luis Obispo, CA | All-ages | $1,800 |
| Sonoma County, CA | All-ages | $1,681 |
The comps are the report.
Everything above is the summary. The full report carries the market-level comps, the tier breakdowns, and the figures that never reach a listing. Verified, dated, and not available anywhere else.
Site rent for every surveyed market
All-ages and 55-plus averages market by market, with the trailing-year change and how far in-place rent sits below it.
Cap rate by tier and by market
What actually cleared in each tier, rather than a national average that underwrites nothing.
Occupancy outliers
The markets running below 70% occupancy and why — Gary, Genesee County, Wichita and the rest of the fill-risk list.
The POH versus TOH pricing spread
How park-owned homes move the cap rate, the expense load they carry, and how we normalize a mixed rent roll.
Rent control exposure by state
Statewide caps, local-only ordinances and pending legislation, mapped against the markets you are buying in.
Tell us what you buy and we send the report for your markets, plus the properties in it that are actually available.