Co-living might be still a new concept in India. However, the country will soon lead the co-living industry in the Asia Pacific region.
The finding is a part of a report by real estate services firm JLL India. As per the report, India will roughly add 150 million people to its urban population in the next 15 years out of which 35 million will be students.
“Younger generations, fast-evolving consumer trends and the potential scalability in the Indian market is a real drawcard for startups and developers looking to enter the co-living market,” Money Control quoted the JLL India study.
There are nearly 35 million students pursuing higher education in India, of this an estimated 10 million migrant students seek accommodation. Usually, only one-third of these students are accommodated in campus hostels provided by the institutions while the remaining 7 million have to look for informal housing models like PGs and private hostels.
Apart from students, the number of fresh-out-off college grads are also increasing. Although they have some income to support themselves, it is still not sufficient to buy or rent an independent place.
All these gaps in adequate living arrangements and expensive real estate will be filled by organized student housing and co-living companies. No wonder the industry that is valued at $120 million is reportedly predicted to touch $2 billion in just three years.
The report’s findings seem to open up various avenues for businesses looking to enter the industry. As of now, operators like Stanza and Placio are targeting the student profile actively in major cities.
Various startups and small companies are also venturing into this segment to tap the potential. One of India’s most valued startups, OYO, recently announced its co-living vertical called OYO Living.
Bengaluru’s Zolo is currently present across six cities with 16,000 beds, but it aims to cross 50,000 beds across India by the 2019-end. US-based co-working startup WeWork may be delving into this industry with its new offering WeLive in India this year.
Institutional investors and venture capital firms are also drawn to the booming industry, JLL noted in its report, citing marquee investors like Sequoia (Stanza), Nexus Venture Partners (Zolo) and Goldman Sachs (Nestaway).