As the rental market continues to evolve, co-living spaces are becoming an increasingly popular option for renters priced out of traditional rental housing. Co-living spaces draw tenants seeking affordability, flexibility, and a built-in sense of community. From young professionals and students to remote workers and city dwellers, renters are pulled to shared living arrangements that offer convenience and cost savings.
Nonetheless, co-living arrangements offer both opportunities and challenges for rental property owners and managers. Let’s explore more in detail the rise of co-living spaces, certain primal considerations for rental property owners and managers, and effective ways for successfully marketing these unique properties.
Understanding the Rise of Co-Living Spaces
Co-living is a real estate term that emanates from the rise of housing startups bestowing homes designed to be shared by five or more adult roommates. These co-living spaces take many 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 common terms, co-living can apply to anything from master-planned communities to living with roommates.
Certain factors are driving the increase in popularity of co-living spaces. For illustration, rising rent prices, mainly in larger cities, have forced numerous renters to share space with non-related adult roommates. Cultural shifts have, secondly, an effect, as remote work culture and changes in social connectivity have influenced more renters to seek out community in new ways. For this reason, co-living tends to strongly attract 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 challenges. Crucial key factors to consider include:
- Lease Structures & Flexibility: There are pros and cons to renting a single unit or property to multiple tenants. Yet, individual leases can offer renters more flexibility while providing 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 many people, which can extremely increase a property manager’s workload. The alternative is to offer group leases, which can reduce lease management despite having other potential negatives.
- Furnishings & Shared Amenities: Another necessary consideration is how to design a co-living space for community living. While arrangements often vary, in most situations, residents of co-living properties foresee having communal spaces that help bring about gatherings. Property managers can appeal to co-living renters by establishing communal indoor and outdoor spaces. Bringing in furnishings, decor, and shared amenities can always make sure that residents are comfortable and that no one person has control over communal spaces.
- Tenant Screening & House Rules: Another factor of co-living rental properties is affirming compatibility among co-living tenants. As non-related adults, residents of a co-living property may like to share their home with people who have lifestyles and personalities compatible with their own. This can be a great challenge for rental property managers as it comprises properly managing expectations and responsibilities related to communal spaces. Making a clear set of house rules can help assuredly 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 crucial to do your research preliminary to offering a co-living rental.
How to Successfully Market Co-Living Rentals
There are numerous unique elements of marketing a co-living rental property, so it is focal to stress the features that attract renters to co-living spaces, to start with. For illustration, in your advertising, see to it you clearly highlight benefits like cost savings (mainly when compared to familiar and traditional rental homes), community engagement, and location.
Renters looking for co-living spaces are normally pulled to properties with easy access to urban centers and local arts and entertainment options. They also completely use 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 rapidly attract the type of renters who are inquiring about co-living rental homes.
Is Co-Living the Future of Rental Housing?
There are countless reasons to explore co-living rentals as a unique and rather profitable option for your properties. Despite that, co-living may not be the prime option for every rental property or location. This is exactly why, fully understanding all the benefits and challenges of managing co-living spaces is an integral first step.
If you’re interested in managing or investing in co-living spaces, please contact your local Real Property Management Tulsa office. We are here to bestow the support you need to unreservedly make informed real estate decisions in Broken Arrow and nearby. Our team can offer prudent and spot-on guidance on market trends, investment strategies, and operational management. Reach out to us or call 918-532-7020 to get more beneficial info!
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