Co-Living Business Review: 2nd Quarter 2018

Around the world, the co-living sector is growing dramatically as this alternative housing model gains traction and goes mainstream. The real estate industry, institutional investors and major corporate players are embracing this mode of living as growth potential in most urban housing markets is enormous.

The amount of investor enthusiasm surrounding big deals that have been announced is palpable. In recent months, millions of dollars in capital have flowed into the co-living sector to fast-growing brands. Here’s a breakdown of the major deals across different markets.

North America

Mirroring the global market, there’s been a lot of movement in the U.S. market recently. Common, an established American brand looking to expand its reach globally, announced they had successfully raised $40 million in Series C venture funding. Ollie, another formidable competitor in the American co-living market, announced in January that they raised $15 million to enter new markets in other cities in the United States. HubHaus also recently announced $11.5 million in funding to expand their reach beyond California.

Many other brands are expanding as the market experiences rapid growth in major American cities. America has a prolific fundraising scene, so you can expect a flurry of deals to fund a wide variety of co-living ventures to continue through the end of the year.

Latin America

Co-living spaces have proliferated at a steady pace in many of Latin America’s major cities. While no major funding deals have been in the press recently, there has been plenty of coverage of the co-living phenomenon in the Spanish and Portuguese language press.

São Paulo, one of the world’s largest cities and Brazil’s economic capital, is one place where co-living is going mainstream. In coveted neighborhoods where space is limited, co-living is catching on as a viable alternative.

Stay tuned for more co-living developments out of Latin America, but for now, there isn’t much news on the fundraising front.

Europe

Much like North America, Europe is an established market for the co-living sector and also has a vibrant market for fundraising. In France, the Paris metro co-living market is starting to look more like its sister city across the English channel, London. Brands such as Colonies, At Home and Quartus have been in the news as they expand their operations and open new facilities.

Quartus announced just a few days ago the launch of a millennial-centric brand Living Home and a student-oriented brand The Opener. Similarly, right next door in Belgium, Brussels-based startup co-living brand CoHabs successfully raised more than 1 million euros to expand beyond the borders of their home country.

Over the in the United Kingdom, a well-established brand, The Collective, has also announced a major round of funding. At a whopping 400 million dollars, this large injection of money in meant to propel the brand’s expansion into new markets, including Germany and the United States.

There’s a great deal of activity occurring all over Europe, and the expansion that we’re seeing in the co-living sector on the old continent appears to be the tip of the iceberg.

Asia

In recent months, there’s been a lot of movement in the Asian market, especially China, as brands rush to become among the first co-living operators in the world’s second-largest economy.

The press has been buzzing with news of co-living catching on among millennials. MINI has made their big splash by announcing what they believe will be the first co-living space in China. Other peers in the same industry also are entering the co-living sector and unveiling their own plans in Shanghai, Hong Kong and beyond.

Meanwhile over in India, a market that’s far ahead of its Asian peers in the co-living space, expansion continues as large funding deals are being inked. For instance, NestAway, a co-living startup brand raised 50 million rupees (about $750,000 U.S. or about 600,000 euros). Other India-based co-living brands such as CoLive and StayAbobe also announced successful funding rounds intended to expand their footprint.

You can expect the rapid expansion of co-living in Asia to continue, as countries where the housing typology isn’t yet formalized begin to attract the attention of co-living sector investors.

Beyond

We don’t want to forget our friends Down Under in Australia or our peers in Africa.

In Australia, the seeds are being planted for breakneck growth in the near future, as newly released studies show a ballooning population and a widespread acceptance of the co-living housing arrangement.

In Africa, several players already are established in Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa, and, like their industry peers in other markets, they are experiencing growth. Brands new on the scene include Wisinomad, a startup that aims to give digital nomads experience in the growing African tech space.

About The Lab

PUREHOUSELAB exists as a one-stop-shop professional hub for co-living operators. We depend on our network to keep us in the loop about the latest developments in the co-living sector. If you’d like to submit a news tip, please email our in-house Journalist at david@purehouselab.org.You can also purchase a copy of the Lab’s latest book, Who’s Who in Co-Living, by clicking here.