In such a situation, the availability of affordable housing resources is crucial to bringing the economy back on track. Since companies are now adopting hybrid working models, India’s working class is forced to find affordable housing near their jobs. Looks like millennials are caught in the daunting task of finding a livable home in premium cities. To solve the affordable housing problems, 2021 seems to be the right time that Indians to adopt the ‘Co-Living’ Model. The concept of Co-Living is in an ‘introductory’ phase in India but is a lot more popular in the west. In this article, we aim to explore the striking factors favoring the rise of Co-Living spaces and how Real Estate Investors can catch the early trend!
Think of a world in which you won’t have to spend hours traveling to your office or workplace but could walk to your office listening to your favorite playlist! Along with that, what if you and your colleagues get a chance to form a community of your own but at the same time get your personal space with your family. To put it simply, the comforts you always wished for can come true by renting a Co-Living space. The Co-Living concept enables people having common or shared interests, employment backgrounds, and so on to live together as a community and share resources.
6 Striking Aspects of Affordable Co-Living Spaces:
Traditional rental housing imposed many restrictions on the tenants. Here’s how Co-Living breaks the barriers:
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Shared Ecosystem:
In a Co-Living community, people connect through common goals and interests and start living in shared spaces. The common goals can be employment, education, senior citizens’ companionship, and so on. In a Co-living ecosystem, the tenants have separate rooms respecting their personal space, while at the same time offering common areas like T.V/Movie rooms, ‘chill’ party areas, and much more! It builds a network of like-minded people and provides opportunities to explore and at the same time saves costs through shared resources.
- Brings Work closer to People: The Co-living model is designed to aid companies or universities to accommodate its members in the vicinity of their premises to aid productivity and cut down on any inconvenience. Furthermore, most companies believe in creating synergies amongst their workforce and thus Co-living provides ample benefits to people and their organizations. Thus, a major daily cost component of ‘Travelling to Work’ is eliminated.
- Flexible Renting Options: Co-Living Projects provides flexible renting plans in the form of weekly or monthly lease options. The rent amount is comparatively low due to compact and sustainable designs. Moreover, the tenants have to pay minimal or sometimes even no deposit, making Co-living the most convenient renting option. The apartments and rooms are managed by professional management companies which look after the essential services and amenities. Thus, tenants can enjoy their experiences rather than worry about maintenance.
- Access to High-end Amenities: Within the Co-Living ecosystem, modern-day amenities like shopping arcades, lifestyle brands, mini theatres, restaurants, sports clubs, etc. are incorporated to provide ‘a city-life experience to the community. These amenities add a flavor of bonding and leisure amongst the members.
- Cost-Sharing with Common Daily Activities: One of the interesting aspects of Co-Living is the cost-sharing of daily monotonous chores like laundry, cloth press, meals, and so on. With shared access to these activities, the community gets a chance to interact as well as turn boring activities into fun bonding sessions.
- Socializing and Interactive Events: Bored of living away from your friends and family in a rental house? Well, here’s how Co-living makes shared living exciting and fun. Forget about being a lone warrior. The Co-Living community organizes frequent socializing and interactive events like games, parties, tours, and so on, that people can look forward to! This protects the community from getting secluded and also creates a familial experience away from the family.
From this, we can infer that Co-Living is more than just a rental facility. It’s a ‘New Lifestyle’ in the making. This beginning of Co-Living Lifestyle would possibly be the future of affordable millennial housing in India.
How does co-living help overcome the challenges of Indian real estate?
●Aiding India’s Affordable Housing: For years, India has been experiencing a land crisis as the country’s expanding population outnumbers available living areas. The demand for personal space is increasing and the available resources are sparse to accommodate it. Moreover, not many people can afford to buy a house in job-creating cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and so on. In this, Co-living possesses the potential to change this crisis into an opportunity. As many economic zones and CBDs along with private companies in the tech and distribution industry are keen on incorporating this concept, the affordable housing segment can surely leverage this growing trend.
- Making use of unsold inventory: One of the most serious problems confronting the real estate sector is the accumulation of unsold inventory. Even though multiple properties are unoccupied across India’s main cities, there is a shortage of affordable flats in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. Unsold flats can readily be turned into shared or family rental facilities, which are typically set up by co-living businesses that lease the entire building. According to a recent survey by a leading portal, roughly 72% of millennials are interested in renting co-living spaces.
- The newly enacted Model Tenancy Law: According to data, nearly 11 lakh properties remain unoccupied across the country. The recently enacted Model Tenancy Act 2019 not only acknowledges the widespread issue of a demand-supply mismatch but also strives to organize the rental housing industry. Rental housing can be pushed even further in India with the help of co-living companies. They do away with the need for a third party, and because advance deposits are lower than in traditional leasing, they offer greater transparency and leave minimal possibility for landlord or tenant exploitation.
- Promoting developers’ active participation: The new wave of co-living allowed huge cities to tap into hitherto untapped real estate opportunities. The majority of players in the co-living area collaborate with developers who have inventory that can be used for rental accommodation. Developers’ property is managed by the co-living service providers. The partnership is profitable since the rental money benefits both parties.
- Employing technology to better one’s quality of life: In India, co-living has welcomed technology with open arms, combining it with human skills to deliver the finest living experience to those looking for a place to call home. Co-living has encompassed everything from Virtual Reality (VR) to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). Some of the most popular co-living trends are voice control, smart locks, and home automation. Several firms also provide consumers with smart gadgets that allow them to track their bills, energy usage, and appliance usage at home.
Real Estate Investors – Catch the Early Trend!
For any investor, to take a calculated position early in the trend is a big bonus. Co-living is here to stay and can be the next big thing like Coworking! Investment opportunities in Co-living are pretty limited at the moment in India. Gauging the future of the Co-living prospects, investors can capitalize on this booming concept. As technology is disrupting several sectors, people are eager to try new things, and thus scope for expansion of Co-living is very high. While investing in an early stage, one thing that investors must keep in mind is to undertake a complete analysis of their investment avenue and the cash flow projections from the project.
To bridge the gap of limited Co-living investment options, Assetmonk is joining hands with industry leaders for providing retail investors access to institutional-grade Co-Living Properties. Assetmonk is overwhelmed in launching its dream project ‘The Landing – The first-ever Co-Living Ecosystem in India’s highly trafficked GMR Hyderabad Airport’. With detailed earning projections and robust demand for airport accommodation, the project is aimed to provide a great value proposition for its investors and is eligible to be the star of your real estate portfolio! For getting started with your investment journey, visit our website today!
