Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/320565
JUNE 2014 6 THE JOURNAL No. 4 on Get It Quick Page Observations From The MHI National Congress And Expo In Las Vegas BY FRANK ROLFE COMMUNITY CONSULTANT Caesar's Palace began in 1962, and has grown over the years into a veritable city, as the gaming industry matured from a back-room op- eration to a multi-billionaire dollar business. So it was the perfect setting for the MHI's annual industrial conference, at a time when the man- ufactured home community business seems poised for major advancement. This year's event was remarkable in spirit, and had more life to it than I've experienced before. A new attitude The general attitude of the event could be summed up in one word: "optimism". Commu- nity owners are in a great mood due to higher values, plenty of available lending, new options with homes to fill vacant lots, and prolific views that the industry is breaking into the "next level" as a fully respected member of the greater real estate community. This sentiment was shared by many of the "old-timers" that had been around these events for decades. I know that, in the twenty years I've been around, it was the most positive I've seen people since the chattel collapse of 2000. A new group of people There were a huge number of new faces at the event, as more professionals from other real estate sectors, as well as from Wall Street, are getting interested in this industry. These are not people to be taken lightly. Many large private equity groups were on hand, gathering data for an expansion into this sector. I spoke with many of them, for as far away as Canada. And it was also interesting to see a younger audience developing, who are becoming this sector's greatest advocates. The two guys from the Bloomberg article were there, Dan Weissman and David Shlachter, and so were a bunch of other people in their 30's.