The rise of co-living, which offers private apartments and communal living spaces, in Europe and Asia Pacific has captured investor and developer interests, but what exactly is it?
Co-living spaces generally feature private bedrooms alongside fully furnished shared areas and amenities designed to enhance community, convenience and connection.
These shared spaces often include kitchens, coworking areas, gyms and recreational facilities.
Additionally, co-living emphasises curated programs like networking events and social activities, fostering a strong sense of community engagement.
“There is an increasing amount of development and investor interest ‘co-living’ developments,” James Alexander-Hatziplis, co-founder and CEO of Place Studio said.
“Co-living developments are a modern European housing concept designed to provide a blend of private affordable apartments, coupled with increased communal living spaces.
“Each apartment typically features a bedroom, premium bathroom and small kitchen while also providing shared common areas such as large communal living spaces, shared co-working spaces and recreational facilities. The apartment can be something between a studio and one-bedroom apartment in terms of design.
“Ultimately, this means that more apartments can be fitted into a development and at a more affordable price for residents – especially for new home owners.
“By sharing some common amenities, whether it’s recreation areas, laundry facilities, BBQ areas, storage and/or parking – costs can be reduced, making it affordable for first-time home owners,” he said.
According to JLL, the sector is well-established in the northern hemisphere and, alongside build-to-rent accommodation, has been the most actively traded asset class worldwide since 2021. Sydney has been the focus of more than 90 per cent of total co-living activity in Australia, thanks to the introduction of planning guidelines by the NSW Government.
PGIM Real Estate is entering Australia’s co-living sector, developing a $750 million portfolio in Sydney and Brisbane with Tribe.
Meanwhile, Pro-Invest raised $500 million to convert older hotels and offices into co-living and key worker housing.
Recently, A 480sq m site at 52 Blaxland Road in Ryde, which has development approval for a co-living or new age boarding house development of 25 rooms plus one commercial space and eight car parks, was sold for $2,810,000 to a local developer in a deal negotiated by Knight Frank’s Adam Droubi.
Another co-living development site at 94-98 Addison Road, Marrickville was also recently sold for $4.85m to Property Enterprises (NSW) Pty Ltd in a deal negotiated by James Masselos and Adam Droubi.
Mr Droubi said the two recent sales were more evidence of how the co-living development sector was performing strongly.
“We expect demand to continue throughout 2025, with demand for homes in Australia continuing to exceed available supply for the foreseeable future and housing affordability remaining an issue.
“We are seeing more demand from end users for co-living sites, which are suitable for a wide demographic, and this renter appetite will fuel further development.”