As the rental market continues to evolve, co-living spaces are a steadily growing popular option for renters priced out of traditional rental housing. Co-living spaces strongly appeal to tenants seeking affordability, flexibility, and a built-in sense of community. From young professionals and students to remote workers and city dwellers, renters are definitely attracted by shared living arrangements that grant convenience and cost savings.
But despite that, co-living arrangements confer opportunities and challenges for rental property owners and managers. Let’s examine more deeply the rise of co-living spaces, some substantial considerations for rental property owners and managers, and helpful action plans 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 imparting homes designed to be shared by five or more adult roommates. These co-living spaces take a 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 terms, co-living can hint at anything from extensively master-planned communities to living with roommates.
A handful of factors are driving the increase in popularity of co-living spaces. For instance, rising rent prices, exactly in larger cities, have forced quite a few renters to share space with non-related adult roommates. Cultural shifts have supplementarily an effect, as remote work culture and changes in social connectivity have influenced more renters to seek out community in new ways. In this case, co-living tends to bring in most young professionals, students, city dwellers, and remote workers.
Key Considerations for Property Managers
Rental property owners and managers contemplating moving into the co-living market will be faced with both opportunities and troubles. Certain key factors to consider include:
- Lease Structures & Flexibility: There are pros and cons to renting a single unit or property to multiple tenants. Then again, individual leases can offer renters more flexibility while imparting rental property managers more stability in rental income and lower turnover costs. The other side of that advantage is the need to manage individual leases and lease renewals for several people, which can naturally increase a property manager’s workload. The alternative is to offer group leases, which can reduce lease management but, nevertheless, have other potential inadequacies and setbacks.
- Furnishings & Shared Amenities: Another critical consideration is how to design a co-living space for community living. While arrangements greatly vary, in many situations, residents of co-living properties are supposed to have communal spaces that can make it easy for gatherings. Property managers can appeal to co-living renters by properly creating communal indoor and outdoor spaces. Providing furnishings, decor, and shared amenities can establish that residents are comfortable and that no one person has control over communal spaces.
- Tenant Screening & House Rules: Another element of co-living rental properties is seeing to the compatibility among co-living tenants. As non-related adults, residents of a co-living property may hope to share their home with people who have lifestyles and personalities compatible with their own. This can be real trouble for rental property managers as it encompasses acknowledging and managing expectations and responsibilities related to communal spaces. Producing a clear set of house rules can immensely help define these duties and set expectations for conduct among non-related residents.
- Legal & Zoning Regulations: An additional consideration is local laws regarding shared housing. Plenty of municipalities have strict regulations about the number of roommates and/or residents in different housing types, so it is principally important to do your research just prior to offering a co-living rental.
How to Successfully Market Co-Living Rentals
There are many unique elements of marketing a co-living rental property, so it is primal to prioritize the features that attract renters to co-living spaces to start with. For instance, in your advertising, see to it to pay special attention to benefits like cost savings (exactly when compared to typical and traditional rental homes), community engagement, and location.
Renters looking for co-living spaces are generally fascinated by properties with easy access to urban centers and local arts and entertainment options. They also use extensively social media and rental listing sites to locate and apply for rental homes. By employing digital marketing strategies and highlighting key features in your marketing, you can promptly attract the type of renters who are going in search of co-living rental homes.
Is Co-Living the Future of Rental Housing?
There are many reasons to explore co-living rentals as a unique and appropriate option for your properties. Nevertheless, co-living may not be the best option for every rental property or location. Exactly why fully understanding all the benefits and challenges of managing co-living spaces is a substantial first step.
If you’re interested in managing or investing in co-living spaces, please contact your local Real Property Management Deluxe office. We are here to grant the support you need to meticulously make informed real estate decisions in Pillager and nearby. Our team can offer competent advice on market trends, investment strategies, and operational management. Reach out to us or call 218-454-7368 to discover more!
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