Property Rental Market: Loving Co-living Lifestyle?

“Settle down” is a phrase that is constantly evolving with changing millennial mindset. Earlier it used to mean buying a home and getting married. Today, the term does not hold the same meaning or number one spot on priority list of Indian millennials. They are constantly looking for better opportunities in terms of their lifestyle and career. Ownership of assets – such as homes, cars, or office spaces – is no longer a major priority for them.  

This brings us to the question: how is the real estate market adapting to this paradigm shift?

Quite admirably, if recent trends are anything to go by. Collaborative ownership, as a concept, has created a dent in the industry. The growth registered by co-working and co-living segments within the larger real estate landscape is a testament to how quickly the market is transforming with the evolving needs of the Indian consumer.

Unhindered ambition drives co-working spaces in India

Several millennials are today taking the plunge into entrepreneurship. Deeply driven and undeniably creative, these individuals are coming up with innovative ideas that deserve a place in the business ecosystem. However, a major challenge that most such would-be entrepreneurs face is that of the logistics attached to starting a business. 

Office spaces across the start-up hubs of the country, such as Mumbai, Bangalore, and Delhi, are not financially viable for young professionals who are building their business ventures from scratch. The millennial workforce also no longer sees merit in renting, let alone buying, office spaces at sky-high costs. 

This is where co-working spaces enter the fray. These open, inviting spaces offer millennials the commitment-free, flexible work environment that they crave, at cost-effective price points. In co-working spaces, individuals and businesses need only to pay per seat they occupy to get access to basic office amenities, a robust technological infrastructure, and high-speed internet. These spaces are also conducive to networking, sharing ideas and resources, and finding mentors among a solid peer group. Numerous professionals have found business partners, investors or mentors within their shared working spaces.

These are critical aspects that can translate into continued growth and development of the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem. This is precisely why the Indian co-working industry is growing at an impressive CAGR of 23.8% and is slated to have an expected occupancy of 3.8 million professionals by 2020. 

From working to living together: Millennials gravitate towards co-living spaces

According to a 2019 report by RedSeer, the co-living market in India is currently worth USD 12 billion. There are several reasons why this segment is growing so rapidly. The co-living proposition works really well, especially for people in the early stages of their careers or those pursuing their higher education. 

To begin with, there is the flexibility. During the formative years of their careers, most professionals are still figuring out where they stand in terms of their priorities and preferences. They shift jobs more often and are more open to moving to a different locality or a different city to secure better growth opportunities. 

The co-living proposition makes sense to such consumers, as it gives them both the flexibility and affordability that they desire. It also enables young professionals and students to overcome the isolation that is often integral to their hectic urban life, especially when they move to a new city. In a co-living space, millennials live together in groups with like-minded individuals without the restrictions that are characteristic of traditional rented homes or PG accommodations. 

The undersupply of quality accommodation for students and young professionals has also given a considerable fillip to this burgeoning space. Some of these homes are fully managed, quite like serviced apartments, and offer customization options to millennials for their varied needs. People can choose from a host of options, such as private/shared bedrooms, common kitchens, and recreational areas. 

Tech-driven real estate portals such as NoBroker.com are also leveraging technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence to simplify the property discovery aspect for Indian millennials. More importantly, they are devising innovative solutions that cater to the evolving housing needs of this new-age consumer base in line with its ‘plug-and-play’ ideology. NoBroker has aggregated the space with supply from all leading co-working and co-living partners to provide one-stop solution with large pool of options to choose from. By replacing brokers in the real estate value chain with cutting-edge algorithms, NoBroker provides transparent, real-time access to all the relevant property information – the most valued commodity for any digital-first citizen. This has made comfortable living spaces in prime locations conveniently accessible to young professionals across the country. 

The future of property renting in India

The Indian real estate market is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2030. Much of this growth will be shaped by the diverse needs of millennials, who comprise a growing percentage of the overall consumer base. While traditional property buying and renting solutions will remain important components of the larger real estate industry, new-age concepts such as co-living and co-working are also here to stay. Stakeholders in the property renting landscape are already streamlining the process of home and office hunting to adapt to this new dynamic. Millennials, in turn, are getting access to tech-backed services that can help them achieve the prolific and productive lifestyle that they visualize for themselves – from the very moment they step out of their family homes.