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Co-Liv Summit Report
Co-Liv Summit Report
While coliving has seen tremendous growth, there is still much more work to
be done in order to further showcase the potential of the industry: financial
viability of the model needs to be demonstrated, coliving operators need to
master operational excellence, community managers must learn the art of
dealing with human dynamics, and public officials need to build the right
frameworks for coliving to flourish legally.
We believe that coliving has the ability to heavily influence the way we live.
During the virtual 2021 edition of the Co-Liv Summit, our Co-Liv team brought
together the key stakeholders to learn from our past, impact the now and
innovate for the future of coliving.
We hope that the Co-Liv Summit, alongside our other initiatives, showcased
that coliving is not only here to stay, but that coliving is here to flourish.The
industry must continue to enable all stakeholders in order to achieve its full
potential, and at Co-Liv we are honored to play a role in educating,
connecting, and empowering the global coliving ecosystem.
Gui Perdrix
Co-Liv Director
Co-Liv is the global association of coliving professionals that unites coliving actors
to empower and steer the coliving movement towards an independent, flourishing
and stakeholder-centered industry that creates value for residents, cities,
neighborhoods, operators, investors, and real estate owners alike.
On May 5th and 6th 2021, more than 800+ coliving professionals united to learn
from the leading actors, thought leaders and innovators. This report aims to shine a
light on the key take-aways and insights gathered from two days of talks, panels
and surveys.
The theme of the 2021 Co-Liv Summit was “Laying down the foundations for the
future of coliving” and to date is the largest coliving conference ever held.
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680 respondents
David Abraham
Kevin Clausen-Quiroz CEO, Outpost
The Co-Liv Summit covered a variety of talks and panels covering many different
topics. The main formats were:
1. Spotlight talks
1.1. Community and Operations
1.2. Technology
2. Panels
2.1. Business / Investment
2.2. Operations
2.3. Technology
2.5. Others
3. Workshop
4. Other
With Anil Khera, CEO of Node, Bob Kennedy, Partner at Six Peak, Stonington Cox,
Founder and CEO at Nomos Group, Riccardo Tessaro, Founder and CEO of Gravity.
Moderated by Claire Flurin, Head of R&D at Keys AM.
At Gravity, no operating strategy is better than another, each one has its
advantages depending on the company's objectives. Being asset-light allows
Gravity to stay agile, scale fast and rapidly address untapped markets (i.e. from
0 to 500 beds).
Venture capital and real estate are two entirely different asset classes, with
different tolerances for risk and return expectations.
The person who controls the building is the one that puts more capital in it and
takes the greater risk.
Most European coliving operators start with leases. Going forward, Gravity will
diversify going from just IRI and FRI lease agreements, to management
agreements, revenue sharing agreements, as well as co-investing with
developers.
For Anil the “asset right” way is being an asset manager rather than asset
owner. You might own 5% of an asset, but by that you get the benefits from the
whole value creation. However, this requires a different skillset from being an
operator.
With Susan Tjarksen, Managing Director at Cushman & Wakefield, Philip Hillman,
Chairman Living Capital Markets at JLL, Andrew Purdon, Head of Co-Living transactions
at CBRE UK, Konstantinos Sotiropoulos, Investment Director at Greystar Europe.
Moderated by Claire Flurin, Head of R&D and Innovation at Keys AM.
Similarly to what we experienced in the early 90’s and 00’s with student
housing, investors didn’t understand coliving when it first emerged.
Coliving is the blurring of lines between hospitality and residential. It’s not just
about the bricks and mortar, it’s about a way of living.
Institutions being involved in coliving is what makes it a sector of its own right,
giving it the opportunity to become a real force. Coliving is here to stay and is
influencing other sectors.
At Greystar, the driving forces for coliving are: affordability, convenience (i.e.
enhanced UX), loneliness & flexibility (i.e. flexible lease terms). At Cushman &
Wakefield, the three Cs that attract customers to coliving include: cost,
convenience and community.
In the US there are 12,000 beds in operation with 55,000 in the pipeline, whilst
across Europe there are 16,000 beds in operation and 25,000 in the pipeline,
and in Asia there are 65,000 beds in operation with 125,000 in the pipeline.
(Cushman & Wakefield)
Coliving has encouraged people to not only think about a physical space, but
also how that space is operated.
In the US, 899,000 people annually are looking for roommate housing.
Investment committees must understand that coliving isn’t a current fad, as
younger generations continue to demand for coliving opportunities. Cushman &
Wakefield view residential units as a consumer product.
Expansion, Innovation and Resilience:
Insights from Brad Hargreaves and Reza Merchant
With Brad Hargreaves, founder and CEO of Common, and Reza Merchant, founder and
CEO of The Collective.
Common currently operates 6,000 units in the US for coliving and multi-family
units. The Collective has got just over 8,000 units in operation or under
development across the US, UK and Germany.
“25 million Americans live with roommates, yet this demographic is under
addressed by those who build and rent apartments” - Brad
“It was just shocking to me that housing, which is a fundamental need for every
person in the world, is being so poorly provided for. There hasn’t been a need to
innovate because space is always scarce, but if you approach it from a customer
point of view, then we are scratching the surface in terms of the amount of
evolution and innovation around how housing is provided.” - Reza
During the pandemic, The Collective pivoted to focus on longer stays rather
than shorter stays.
Common operates half of its units as coliving spaces, while the remaining ones
operate as multi-family. Coliving is seen as a unit typology within build-to-rent.
This way, coliving is an entry point into a high-quality building or residential area.
One of the main metrics to focus on is members making friends from the very
beginning, or meaningful connections outside of their suites, which is used as an
indicator for renewal rates. It requires creating the right touchpoints for the user
journey.
By Claire Flurin, former Co-Liv director and Head of R&D at Keys AM.
The four main drivers behind coliving are affordability, mobility, loneliness and
evolving consumer preferences, such as flexibility and experiences, which
challenges the definition of housing.
Coliving is not only a solution for young millennials, but for people at every
stage of their lives. In recent years, the definition of housing quality, to account
for shared living and flexible leases, has evolved in major cities, including New
York, Paris and London.
Key indicators could be: net promoter scores, percentage of residents reporting
improved work and living conditions in coliving, overall housing cost burden, and
percentage of residents reporting improved social life and decreased feelings of
isolation. This approach is not limited to coliving.
The future of affordable living will include options for shared ownership.
Key insights from Industry Polls
Participants of the Co-Liv Summit shared their insights and beliefs around coliving.
These are the latest statistics and trends.
Housing affordability
Loneliness epidemic
Urbanization
Other
68 respondents
Other
122 respondents
Other
What vision of community you relate to the most?
“Community can’t be
created without involving
your members. True
community boils down to
124 respondents
members identifying
themselves with your brand
“Coliving communities need to
because they get value out
become impact-driven and
stakeholder-centric spaces that
of it” - Gui Perdrix (Founder -
foster connection to self, other Art of Co)
and nature” - Matt Lesniak
(Head of Impact and Innovation
- Conscious Coliving)
I don't know
70 respondents
Other
Other
38 respondents
What tech components need the most improvement or could
use customisation / development?
Lead generation
Asset accounting
Community management,
resident matching
Other
More than a year ago, Aitana de Jong, Bart Sasim and Matt Lesniak - the co-
founders of Coliving Awards - came together and spotted a need in the industry to
acknowledge all the factors contributing to the growth of this sector. After
committing themselves to the creation of this necessary initiative, they have spent
the last year pouring their hearts and energy into making the Coliving Awards a
reality and a great experience for all the participants, jury panel, audience and
everyone else involved.
The Coliving Awards is about highlighting all the companies out there - and the
individuals behind those companies - advocating for better ways of living, fostering
thriving communities and building impact-driven coliving initiatives.
From its inception to this moment, Coliving Awards has aimed to become a platform
for discovery, acknowledgment and celebration. Selecting the final winners was
difficult, however, it inspired the Coliving Awards teams and judges and they
believe will do the same for the rest of the shared living sector.
Coliving Awards believes that all of the participants of their awards ceremony have
helped evolve the shared living industry and will inspire the next generation of real
estate market players with their disruptive solutions and state-of-the-art concepts.
To read more about the Coliving Awards winners, finalists, honourable mentions
and other participants and partners, you can download the Coliving Insights x
Coliving Awards Special Edition: Fostering Innovation within Coliving, here.
Co-Liv Summit Partners
Our non-profit association would not exist without the help, support and
involvement of the amazing organizations that help shape the future of living.
Co-Liv is the global non-profit organization, ecosystem, and do-tank whose mission
is to guide and empower the coliving movement worldwide. We are a community of
founders, operators, real estate investors, developers, designers, architects, urban
planners and policymakers who are dedicated to making the world a better place
through shared living.
350+ worldwide
members
45 ambassadors,
representing Co-Liv
across the world
We define coliving as any shared living space that improves the quality-of-life for
its residents. We believe coliving will address the global housing crisis, transform
the real estate landscape, and create new lifestyle paradigms for a more
sustainable future.
Get involved in the Co-Family
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gui@co-liv.org
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