Co-Living Trend Accelerates in Asia
According to a new report by JLL titled "Bridging the Housing Gap", millennials in Asia have turned to living together in a new form of shared housing where residents have common interests and lifestyles.
The research reveals that co-living is gaining traction in Asia, particularly in the markets of Hong Kong and China, where housing affordability is a concern. The emergence of the co-living model offers an affordable housing solution as well as well-being of residents, said Denis Ma, Head of Research, JLL Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong, while co-living is still very much a new initiative, there has been an increasing rise in owners and investors converting their residential and hotel/guesthouse en-bloc properties into co-living schemes since 2015.
In mainland China, the concept of co-living started with YOU+ International Youth Community among other operators that emerged in 2012. By the end of 2016, there were nearly 90 operators across the country. Vanke Port Apartment, one of the largest operators on the mainland, managed more than 60,000 units. Meanwhile, YOU+ operated 16 properties, Mofang expanded to about 15,000 units, ZiRoom operated seven properties and Coming Space managed 10,000 units, according to World Property Journal.
Bolstered by the barriers to homeownership and a housing shortage, the co-living market is proving to be an attractive option to investors and owners of existing properties, particularly in the hospitality sector. However, an expert warned that converting other properties to co-living has to go through a complicated legal and planning process, which increases the time and cost."
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