Woodland East Updates

The Columbian has published a new article about developments in the Woodland East MHC saga. Copyright rules prevent me from presenting details here. You can try this link https://www.columbian.com/news/2024/jan/25/groups-offer-lifeline-to-woodland-east-mobile-home-park-residents/ but their paywall may block it.

The main point that I got from the article is that the Asking Price for Woodland East MHC is substantially more than any previous market sales according to the quoted experts. Therefore, if that park actually sells for anywhere near $33 million, every Manufactured Housing Community in Washington at least, and probably nationally, will substantially increase in value–and rents will have to increase substantially to justify the owner’s investment.

That said, I, Michael Shepherd, Space 134, personally believe the marketplace does not act that way. True, MHC’s are a very popular investment right now, but no reasonable investor will pay substantially over the market for an income property that is already at high market rents. That is, there is little room to further raise rents at Woodland East. A buyer will more likely search for sellers who have not kept pace with the market increases in recent years.

The Columbian article is also interesting for including a comment from Denise Werner. I am sure it was a Herculean effort to get her on the phone. 😉