New Delhi: To cater to the rising migrant population of students and working professionals, a new co-living culture is gaining ground in the metro cities. Start-ups like ZoloStays, Oyo Life, Nestaway, CoHo and Stanza Living are some of the options in this new segment of real estate. Every year, Delhi-NCR, which offers high-grade education and employment opportunities, attracts lakhs of people and yet high house rents have been a disappointing factor.
Sensing the city’s tremendous potential to become a dominant co-living hub, several start-ups have entered this space.
Santhosh Kumar, vice-chairman of Anarock property consultants, which is engaged in real estate research, told The Sunday Guardian: “Co-living, like carpooling and co-working, is the result of demand for more evolved rental housing solutions coming from millennial-like students and young working professionals whose choices differ vastly from those of previous generations. Currently, this new accommodation option is most popular among the youth and unmarried millennial aged between 20-30 years. In fact, professionals who don’t live with their families in the city of work are also considering this option.”
Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, and Greater Noida have witnessed phenomenal growth in co-living options, ranging from private rooms to shared apartments and even bungalows. According to Anarock property consultants, nearly 30% of co-living spaces are located in adjacent residential micro-markets of the IT parks or office spaces in NCR. These spaces are usually costlier as their monthly rentals can go as high as Rs 40,000 depending on facilities being provided.
While Stanza Living has over 16 co-living spaces across Delhi, Noida and Greater Noida, Oyo Life has more than 34 properties in Gurgaon and 20 in Noida which offers co-living options.
With amenities such as Wi-Fi, TV, washing machine and refrigerator, these co-living start-ups are providing sophisticated and community-based apartments for the millennials. An employee of Stanza Living told The Sunday Guardian: “We provide furnished apartments with all basic amenities. Unlike traditional PGs and hostels, our accommodations are modern and lively.”
The co-living culture is an adaptation of what is being tested and practiced in western countries. On the problems being faced while bringing in this western concept, Santhosh Kumar said: “In the past, too, we have seen several western real estate formats going through some variations while entering the Indian markets. Similarly, for co-living culture to survive in India, it will have to adapt to the specific Indian ethos and also demographic variations within different geographies. We will see it evolve to incorporate Indian nuances as we go along.”