Saluda Grade, an alternative investment firm focused on asset-backed credit, has announced a US$20 million Series C investment in Zippy, a technology-enabled originator and servicer dedicated to manufactured housing finance. Saluda Grade served as the sole investor through its growth equity strategy. Beyond providing capital, the firm will collaborate with Zippy on credit, capital markets, balance sheet management, and product development.
Strategic Partnership and Expansion Plans
The new capital and partnership are designed to support Zippy's nationwide expansion as the company moves beyond the 27 states it currently serves. Zippy plans to deliver new loan products across community, retail, and wholesale distribution channels while expanding its technology capabilities and balance sheet capacity. This financing marks an inflection point in Zippy's evolution into a national full-service manufactured housing lending platform.
Infrastructure and Market Opportunity
Zippy has secured more than US$600 million in capital commitments in 2026 alone, reflecting growing institutional interest in manufactured housing finance. The company has built foundational infrastructure across regulatory, legal, risk management, and servicing functions since its inception. Its proprietary loan origination platform supports digital applications, partner-facing tools, underwriting and decisioning capabilities, standardized loan documentation, and data infrastructure.
Manufactured Housing Market Context
Manufactured housing remains one of the nation's largest sources of unsubsidized affordable housing, accounting for 5% of national households in 2024 and 9% of single-family home starts in 2025, according to the Manufactured Housing Institute. Despite this scale, the financial infrastructure supporting the industry remains less developed than the traditional mortgage market. Institutional investors are paying closer attention to manufactured housing finance, driven by rising demand for affordable homeownership and a need for financing infrastructure that can scale with it.
Leadership Perspectives
Ben Halliday, Co-Founder and CEO of Zippy, said manufactured housing is a compelling affordable homeownership solution, but it needs a financing system as modern and efficient as the homes themselves. He noted that Zippy's team experienced these challenges firsthand as community owners and has focused on simplifying financing for homeowners and home sellers. Halliday added that the Saluda Grade partnership should help Zippy serve the existing market and create additional access points for families nationwide.
Investor Commentary
John Stepp, Head of Ventures at Saluda Grade, said Zippy has built an impressive platform in one of the most overlooked sectors of housing finance. He highlighted the company's combination of deep industry expertise, proprietary technology, and a disciplined approach to lending as a differentiated foundation for long-term growth. Stepp added that manufactured housing finance presents a compelling opportunity and that Saluda Grade is excited to partner with Zippy as it expands its platform and enters new markets.
About the Companies
Saluda Grade was founded in 2019 by Ryan Craft and is headquartered in New York City. As of July 1, 2026, the firm reports US$4.1 billion in assets under management and operates across asset management, growth equity, origination, and servicing technology in residential and commercial real estate credit. Zippy was founded in 2021 and works with manufactured housing communities, retailers and dealers, and wholesale partners to help more families access affordable homeownership.
The investment reflects broader policy and market attention on housing affordability and supply challenges nationwide. By pairing Zippy's lending platform with Saluda Grade's credit and capital markets expertise, the companies aim to broaden access to financing for manufactured homes. The partnership positions Zippy to modernize a fragmented, paper-heavy market and build more efficient financial infrastructure around one of America's most scalable sources of affordable homeownership.