As the rental market continues to evolve, co-living spaces are becoming a progressively more popular option for renters priced out of traditional rental housing. Co-living spaces captivate tenants seeking affordability, flexibility, and a built-in sense of community. From young professionals and students to remote workers and city dwellers, renters are enticed to shared living arrangements that grant convenience and cost savings.
Anyhow, bear in mind, co-living arrangements grant opportunities and challenges for rental property owners and managers. Let’s examine the rise of co-living spaces, a few significant considerations for rental property owners and managers, and established strategies for successfully marketing these unique properties.
Understanding the Rise of Co-Living Spaces
Co-living is a real estate term that originates from the rise of housing startups offering homes designed to be shared by five or more adult roommates. These co-living spaces take a whole lot of forms, from single-family homes renovated to accommodate non-related residents to floors in high-rise buildings converted into dormitory-style lodging and beyond. In broader and common language, co-living can refer to anything from master-planned communities to just living with roommates.
Multiple factors are driving the increase in popularity of co-living spaces. Such as rising rent prices, especially in larger cities, have forced a good number of renters to share space with non-related adult roommates. Cultural shifts have, moreover, an effect, as remote work culture and changes in social connectivity have prodded more renters to seek out community in new ways. For these reasons, co-living tends to delight most young professionals, students, city dwellers, and remote workers.
Key Considerations for Property Managers
Rental property owners and managers weighing on moving into the co-living market will be faced with both opportunities and challenges. Some of the major key factors to consider include:
- Lease Structures & Flexibility: There are pros and cons to renting a single unit or property to multiple tenants. With that said, individual leases can offer renters more flexibility while guaranteeing rental property managers more stability in rental income and lower turnover costs. The flip side of that advantage is the need to manage individual leases and lease renewals for plenty of people, which can consequently increase a property manager’s workload. The alternative is to offer group leases, which can reduce lease management, but, at any rate, have other potential drawbacks.
- Furnishings & Shared Amenities: Another very important consideration is how to design a co-living space for community living. While arrangements may be different, in general, residents of co-living properties expect to find communal spaces that foster gatherings. Property managers can appeal to co-living renters by setting up communal indoor and outdoor spaces. Providing furnishings, decor, and shared amenities can make certain that residents are comfortable and that no one person has control over communal spaces.
- Tenant Screening & House Rules: Another major aspect of co-living rental properties is to see to it that there’s compatibility among co-living tenants. As non-related adults, residents of a co-living property may look to share their home with people who have lifestyles and personalities compatible with their own. This can be quite a challenge for rental property managers as it entails addressing expectations and responsibilities related to communal spaces. Creating a clear set of house rules can help expressly define these duties and set expectations for conduct among non-related residents.
- Legal & Zoning Regulations: An additional consideration is local laws regarding shared housing. Lots of municipalities have strict regulations about the number of roommates and/or residents in different housing types, so it is primal to do your research ahead of offering a co-living rental.
How to Successfully Market Co-Living Rentals
There are innumerable unique elements of marketing a co-living rental property, so it is a basic yet critical practice to pay attention to the features that attract renters to co-living spaces before anything else. Such as, in your advertising, make certain to highlight benefits like cost savings (namely when compared to an ordinary, traditional rental home), community engagement, and location.
Renters looking for co-living spaces are conventionally drawn to properties with easy access to urban centers and local arts and entertainment options. They, moreover, consistently use social media and rental listing sites to locate and apply for rental homes. By applying digital marketing strategies and highlighting key features in your marketing, you can straight away attract the type of renters who are trying to find co-living rental homes.
Is Co-Living the Future of Rental Housing?
There are a number of reasons to explore co-living rentals as a unique and practical option for your properties. But, in any case, co-living may not be the most terrific option for every rental property or location. Consequently, fully understanding all the benefits and challenges of managing co-living spaces is a significant first step.
If you’re interested in managing or investing in co-living spaces, please contact your local Real Property Management West San Fernando Valley office. We are here to supply the support you need to unreservedly make informed real estate decisions in Granada Hills and nearby. Our team can offer beneficial guidance on market trends, investment strategies, and operational management. Reach out to us or call 818-727-0100 to ascertain more!
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