Historically, camping involved pitching a tent on public lands and communing with nature. In the 1950’s this morphed into ‘camping’ in rv’s; and some interesting and sophisticated rv’s, namely trailers, were manufactured and sold at that time. Then as the interstate system was promoted by Eisenhower even larger and more comfortable trailers were manufactured. And that created demand for rv sites or lots that could accommodate these behemoths. Accordingly rv parks were created and so the commercialization of camping. As these pseudo-rustic campsites became popular the individualism of camping, i.e. communing alone with nature became a shared experience with other campers merely feet away. And the rv industry grew based on the premise that this promised the great outdoors at ones doorstep (although in reality the rv parks devolved into tightly packed parking lots). Accordingly, it became imperative for rv parks to begin offering more amenities, larger lot sizes, and resort amenities to keep the ‘camping’ dream alive and the rv park business vibrant.
So it wasn’t any surprise to have moved from camping on public lands to ‘developed’ State and National parks with unstructured sites to private commercial parks with FHU and more amenities further removing the guest from the promised wilderness experience. The campground industry was forever changed. It wasn’t long before developers locked onto the idea that if renting a rv site was profitable, how much more lucrative would be the actual sale of a small plot of dirt. Thus selling rv lots, as fee simple ownership of a small 600 sq.ft. piece of real estate, became a reality. Most if not all these situations are initially sold by a developer, as in any residential style development, and later become HOA’s. How did this come about?; what was/is the marketing ploy to induce people to spend an exorbitant amount of money per sq.ft. for improved land? Well, as camping became even more popular and rv sales hit record numbers in 2017 it became apparent that if one wanted a guaranteed spot, particularly in a winter haven, that lot ownership was the ticket. And of course this then spread to ownership opportunity across the country as developers promoted the ‘resort’ lifestyle in a ‘campground’ replete with amenities such as heated pools, hot tubs, a bar and restaurant, pickleball courts, clubhouse, etc.
Over time the build out of these owner parks actually cannibalized the available rental sites as older rv parks perceived the sale of lots as more profitable than daily/weekly rentals. This occurred at the same time that rv sales were increasing. Understand that from the low in the year 2009 (165,000 wholesale shipments of rvs to dealers) to the year 2017 (504,000 wholesale shipments of rvs to dealers) growth was explosive. The year 2017 exceeded by 110,000 units the best sales of 2006 (a hot market year) before the financial downturn. Since 2017 units sales were stagnant and after the Wuhan Virus the uptick in sales has been so strong that there is virtually no inventory on dealer’s lots substantiating RVIA’s documentation of posting a whopping 17% increase year over last. Most industry insiders attribute this 2020 spike to vacationers avoiding hotels and air travel. In any event the industry projects little slowdown in 2021.
This of course has exasperated the supply of available rental rv lots. It has also produced consternation among full timers and others regarding the increased time-line needed to reserve a site at popular national parks and other destinations.
Enter the ever imaginative developer to offer a more private and upscale version of rv lot ownership. This is commonly referred to as ‘recreational land’ as opposed to ‘residential land’. ‘Recreational land’ development offers everything from the basic utilities in place at the street (water and electric) to more turn-key developments offering in place utilities such as water, electric, sewer, cable and paved streets. Regardless of level of utilities offered, they are developed along the same concept as any residential development most of us are familiar with. The land is owned in fee simple and the landowner can erect and build a rv pad, a shed to cover the rv or anything other structure permitted by the town. Some of these will be turned over as HOA communities and others not. And an important feature is that residential stick built homes can be constructed on your land in a ‘recreational land’ development (in a ‘residential land’ designation rv’s are not permitted). Accordingly this make for a mixed use community comprised of rv’s and residential homes. The compelling reason for ownership is that your typical 600 sq.ft. lot in a privately owned park is now 0.50 acres or more, and the freedom to construct and landscape to your personal taste within the confines of town regulations and/or zoning restrictions. The cost of these ‘recreational land’ parcels is comparable to that of a 600 sq.ft. piece of dirt in a private rv community, although without the amenities that a private HOA rv community offers such as clubhouse, pool, pickleball courts, etc. This idea of ‘recreational land’ is being promoted in small pockets around the country. It is anticipated that the ‘recreational land’ developments will evolve into fully developed HOA offerings that include pools, clubhouse, marina, pickleball courts, etc as demand spurs interest in ‘recreational land’ with more amenities. We perceive that the demand by all those new rv owners will spur sales of this newly minted concept.
©RJJ2020
