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The millennial mindset has spurred a number of transformational developments for society. Social media platforms like WhatsApp, car sharing services like Uber, holiday home sharing like Airb&b, and co-working spaces like WeWork are just a few manifestations of their out-of-the-box disruptive thinking. In the real estate domain, coliving is quickly becoming the new buzzword. This idea of urban living has been gaining traction with millennials across the globe.

Getting smart about space sharing

Especially in the US and Europe, coliving or “community living” is a new take on the old idea. What’s new is that individuals are now being drawn together by lifestyle choices, and not so much by religious affiliations or other considerations. The idea is to get smart about space sharing.

A millennial typically spends about 45 minutes a day in the living room and kitchen, and around nine hours in the bedroom. Yet, the living room and kitchen space account for 60% of the real estate price, while the bedroom accounts for 40% of the cost. Coliving spaces optimise real estate utilisation. By sharing less utilised areas with a larger community, residents easily save around 10% of the expense, and property owners get a higher yield on the property on account of being able to accommodate more people on a floor plate.

For years, the “hacker house” has offered aspiring entrepreneurs a place to rest their heads — often a bunk bed — for cheap rent. In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg rented a five-bedroom house in Palo Alto, where early Facebook employees built the social network. But now the hacker-house concept has evolved into all-inclusive experiences that come with lots of perks. Residents, or “members,” as they’re often called, can join these communities and instantly tap into amenities such as free internet, maid service, and new friends.

Unlike previous generations, young professionals today are not strung out about possessions. Your phone serves as your computer, TV, camera, photo storage, music player, book reader, and even credit card wallet, so having a physical space for your landline, TV, stereo, and etc. is an obsolete idea. What they value are experiences, being part of like-minded communities, and flexibility. And coliving delivers that.

Here are four key reasons why millennials are switching to coliving as a lifestyle choice, and why it’s considered the future of residential real estate for the urban living millennial.

Value for Money

Many people nowadays are struggling to afford a house in major urban centres. It’s not simply the rent that is an obstacle. Large deposit expectations, inflexible commercial contracts, and absent landlords of traditional buy-to-let models are also serious challenges.

In coliving spaces, people pay an all-inclusive rental package, covering all utilities, housekeeping, and maintenance, making shared living a very cost effective, convenient, and flexible solution.

Ease of Urban Living

For urban professionals who typically move jobs (and homes) every 20 months or so, having to deal with furnishing, kitchen appliances, and utility contracts when relocating can be a real hassle.

Coliving is based on the plug-and-play model. Everything is provided — it’s like urban living in a classy hotel. Technology is applied to increase service efficiency, saving you the hassle of dealing with everyday household chores, and letting you focus on what’s more important in life.

Sense of Community

While most youngsters tend to be hungry for the freedom to explore new horizons and possibilities, the journey can often get lonely. Studies suggest that more than 40% of millennials suffer from chronic loneliness. That’s why they cherish being part of like-minded communities.

Coliving offers the perfect antidote. Living in a community of like-minded individuals — bonding over breakfast and gaming evenings — makes it easier to have meaningful face-to-face conversations in an increasingly virtual world. Not surprisingly, community living is a trend on the up.

Safety

Among rental options, coliving spaces are surely the safer and more convenient choice for newcomers to the city. The community element ensures easy access to a host of inside knowledge about the location which otherwise could take months to grasp. They also tend to be more organised and transparent when it comes to security.

For instance, in our coliving Hive spaces, keys are a thing of the past. Residents are provided with electronic access cards, fobs, and can even open doors using their phones. Background verification and screening process of the staff, residents, and contractors are also common practices.

Bottom line

Coliving is not a fad — it’s already becoming a sustainable category in the real state sector. Depending on the amenities and the kind of community you are looking for, there are quite a few options available today.

Startups like us — B-Hive Living in the UK, Cohabs in Belgium, Open Door in the US, and others are experimenting with design, technology, and service to build coliving spaces that appeal to the generation that is always on the move.

The rise of coliving does not necessarily mean the death of traditional home rental and ownership. But it only takes quick research to realise why the future of coliving looks bright — the market and social trends provide a strong basis for its exponential growth.

Predictions state that in another five years we can expect home ownership to drop by 40% in the UK. Only 10% of homeowners are aged 16–34 — this represents a jaw dropping 50% decrease since 1998 according to a study by the Resolution Foundation. The most recent English Housing Survey shows, millennials between the ages of 25 and 34 are more likely to practice urban living by renting in the private sector than to buy with a mortgage. What’s more interesting, over the last 10 years. the number of those aged 25–34 living in privately rented households nearly doubled from 24% to 46%. The private rental sector is growing in the UK like never before. Housing can’t be built fast enough.

With property prices rising and the growing influx of millennial renters in the market, things transform rapidly. Academics such as Alexandra Notay, policy director at the Urban Land Institute, argue that structural and lifestyle changes in society such as flexible employment are boosting long-term demand for rental homes. The self-employed, start-up workers, and flexi hour employees are all examples of a new segment of the population who do not want to be tied down by a mortgage, and prefer the flexibility that comes with renting.

Technology has changed the way the world appears and functions. Coliving is set to change the way millenials and other segments of modern society approach housing and urban living in the future.

 

You can read this and more useful articles in our Medium publication.

B-Hive Living is a multi-award winning coliving brand, operator and asset manager of coliving properties with a strong track record of best-in-class design, investment and management practices. Our mission is to empower professional renters to lead a more connected, healthy and fulfilling lifestyle through co-living. This relentless focus on our residents’ well-being ensures a sustained demand wherever we operate.

Coliving startup B-Hive Living launches groundbreaking build-to-rent developments for the motorsport community in Bicester – the heart of Britain’s Motorsport Valley.

B-Hive Living – a rapidly expanding coliving startup, is developing hi-tech rental homes aimed at millennial professionals and entrepreneurs working for the motorsport industry in and around Bicester.

Almost 3,500 high performance motorsport companies are based in the Motorsport Valley, employing around 40,000 people. Amongst them, more than 60% of the Formula One teams, including Mercedes, Hass, Force India and many new Formula E teams. This means that a staggering 80% of the world’s high-performance engineers work and live in the area.

B-Hive Living’s tech friendly homes are increasingly popular among the motorsport millennial community.  While part of the appeal is certainly the various tech amenities provided, from smart locks to app controlled heating and sound system, Williams Johnson – B-Hive Living’s co-founder believes there are other more fundamental reasons for the success of their schemes.

“Our ethos of placing the well-being and convenience of our residents first has resonated with many disillusioned tenants who can clearly see this commitment reflected in our build and design quality, and operational approach to our Hives”

Mátyás N., a Formula 1 engineer who has recently moved from Hungary has also highlighted the valuable soft-landing provided by B-Hive Living’s “plug and play model” to young professionals immigrating to the Motorsport Valley. He said:

The powerful mix of space, location and community make Hive Homes an easy choice. I recently moved here and landing into a friendly international community in a beautiful new home with everything you can possibly need has provided me with the perfect start for life in a new country.

B-Hive Living is a multi-award winning coliving brand, operator and asset manager of coliving properties with a strong track record of best-in-class design, investment and management practices. Our mission is to empower professional renters to lead a more connected, healthy and fulfilling lifestyle through co-living. This relentless focus on our residents’ well-being ensures a sustained demand wherever we operate.

Why the millennial generation want smart homes and how are coliving spaces uniquely placed to meet their expectations?

It’s not a surprise that millennials are comfortable with technology. They are the first generation to grow up in a home with a smartphone in their hand and take advantage of the web’s infinite flexibility, global communication reach and limitless access to information.

Growing up surrounded by tech devices has not only defined their ability to quickly adapt to new trends, but more importantly these experiences shaped their expectations as a consumer.  87% of millennials use between two and three tech devices at least once on a daily basis. They’ve grown used to access just about any service they could possibly need with just a click of a button.

A new report by the tech company LivePerson confirms that the majority of millennials and Generation Z communicate digitally more than they do in person.

Millennials have now surpassed baby boomers as the largest living population. As baby boomers leave the workforce, millennials are quickly inheriting their buying power and their influence has been creeping up in every sector yet it’s just now it’s starting to be felt into the property world. But the big surprise is that they’re willing to pay more for the added convenience of smart home technology.

A survey conducted by Wakefield Research found that 86 percent of millennials were willing to spend more money renting a place with smart home technology. In fact, millennials are willing to pay an average of 20 percent more a month in order to secure a home with smart technology.

But, what sort of smart home technologies are millennials after? They are predominantly after smart home devices that:

1. Enhance convenience and provide flexibility –  digital door locking technology, mobile-controlled security systems , interconnected doorbells and USB outlets are good examples of this category.

2. Make entertainment choices easier –  Smart TVs, digital media players, voice-activated assistants and wireless speakers that can sync with multiple electronics like Sonos and Apple TV are favoured.

3. Save energy and protects the environment – They love systems that can both slash energy costs and impact positively the environment like smart thermostats, automated lighting systems and controllable blinds.

They particularly appreciate devices that devices that are able to sync with multiple electronics and are accessible on the go thanks to smartphones.

Although the global smart home market is growing fast, many of these advances are being driven by relatively small start-ups and just now becoming mainstream. This has kept many large homebuilders and developers at bay. On the other hand new savvy coliving start-ups have been quick to pick up and adapt their spaces to these trends. Many of these companies are either run by millennials or they cater predominantly for millenials, which has placed them in a unique position to leverage these trends.

It’s not simply about the technology but also about how millennials make these choices that favour coliving spaces.  Millenials read ratings, comments and reviews before choosing a service or product and coliving spaces are taking advantage of this tendency by curating products and brands trusted by these groups and developing a community that can relay first hand their experience of the lifestyle and culture of the space.

Finally, the separation between home and office is ever so blur for this generation. This is why their home improvement preferences tend to be largely influenced by how the home space is organised for both living and working. Coliving spaces have also been quick to respond with versatile spaces and technologies that can cater for both activities interchangeably.

Smart technology is only just beginning. But, as the millennial generation takes over, we‘re going to see a huge change in real estate as a result and those better prepared to meet their expectations will find success.