San Mateo County launched a low-interest loan program that is helping working families purchase manufactured homes in an expensive housing market. The Mobile Home Loan Program, which requires no down payment, has enabled residents like Jaime Prieto Diaz and his wife Migdal Ibarra to move into new homes in the county.
The program targets lower-income residents of seven mobile home parks in unincorporated San Mateo County, which house more than 700 people. Prieto Diaz's monthly loan payment for a 36-foot manufactured home is under $400. "It gives us the opportunity to have something that belongs to us," he said in a statement provided by the county.
San Mateo County considers a family of four earning $168,100 a year to be low income, according to state guidelines. The median home sale price in the county reached $2.2 million in July 2026, the California Association of Realtors reported.
Noelia Corzo, president of the Board of Supervisors, said the program serves residents already living in the county. "Everyone deserves a home to call their own," Corzo said. "This program gives families who already live in our community more dignity and an opportunity to build greater stability for themselves and their children."
Manufactured homes are built in factories and installed on existing sites, allowing the county to replace aging or undersized housing without building entirely new developments, according to the county.