The Global coliving market is now worth close to $7.5 Billion (Up from $6.3 Billion in 2018) with close to 3 Million people living in organized coliving setups across the world. China is the breakaway global leader with more than 2.5 million people staying in coliving facilities and about $6.7 Billion being paid to coliving companies as rent in 2019. India is the 2nd largest market by the number of colivers with 130,000 people who are paying a collective rent of $270 Million.
Across Europe and the US, the coliving movement has steadily been gaining momentum. Close to 15,000 people are living in coliving facilities in Europe and about 10,000 people in the US, with market sizes being estimated at about $250 Million and $210 Million respectively.
Nuances of different markets
While sharing of rooms by 2 or more people is the norm in India and China, this is not a culture that is noticeable in the western part of the world where people want to have their own space. As a consequence of this cultural change, as well as purchase power parity between different geographies, the avg annual rent paid by a coliver in the US and Europe is almost 10x the rent paid in Asia (See chart below).
Another key difference is that in Asia, coliving operators have chosen to work with existing real estate that is available to them and choosing to repurpose them into colivings whereas, in Europe, many operators have opted to work with developers to custom build projects specifically for coliving. While Purpose Built Coliving (PBCL) projects offer better returns for investors and better margins for operators, it takes time to get a project up and running. Close to 25,000 coliving rooms are currently under construction in Europe and are expected to hit the market over the next 3 years. If you are a coliving operator or a someone from the real estate indurty looking to grow in the coliving sector and ensure sustainability here is a quick guide for you
Challenges
While the growth rates might be strong across multiple geographies, there are multiple challenges that are affecting the growth of the industry. A few have been outlined below –
- Zoning laws need to be updated to include coliving assets
- Clarification by Government agencies on (non) applicability of VAT/GST or the equivalent taxes on rent paid
- Acceptance of coliving as a living option by society at large
What to expect next from the coliving industry?
With increased urbanization and mobilization of people across the world, coliving presents a great option for tenants to live amongst a great community of people in a cost-effective manner. While the start of the coliving today is focused on Gen Z and Millennial population, we can expect more inclusive coliving models with housing options for families and senior citizens as well.
Coliving is also centred around metropoles at the moment. Over the next few years, we should see the evolution of coliving in regions like Australia, New Zealand, Middle East and Latin America. Existing operators would possibly scale their offerings deeper into cities where they are currently operational.
To gain more insights and know the growth opportunities in the co-living sector download the free global coliving report here
