Millennials avoid high rents and drive co-living boom across Greater Bay Area and elsewhere in China
Young Chinese flock to affordable room spaces with communal facilities and greater connectivity as residential prices soar in the nation’s larger cities
High rents, greater connectivity and lack of space are driving the co-living trend in mainland China and Hong Kong. This is where residents pay for room space and then share a variety of communal facilities and amenities such as Wi-fi. Often tied in with co-working spaces, the co-living facilities are sold as a tech-entrepreneurial community space, which critics have derided as subdivided housing in fancy dress.
“For those locked out of the residential market, the emergence of the co-living model offers an affordable housing solution for their needs: an alternative to staying in the family home, sharing a rental unit, or living in a subdivided flat,” says Denis Ma, head of research, JLL Hong Kong.
“In addition, the community elements touted by most co-living schemes have the potential to improve the overall well-being of residents.”
Love or hate it, co-living is growing exponentially in Asia and Greater China. In Hong Kong, spaces such as Bibliothèque in Yau Ma Tei; SynBOX in Hung Hom; M3 International Youth Community in Central, Prince Edward, Tsim Sha Tsui and Sham Shui Po; Mini Ocean Park Station in Shouson Hill; and Campus Hong Kong in Tsuen Wan have all proliferated.
The concept has expanded to blend hotel and living experiences into one. The team at Mojo Nomad in Wong Chuk Hang, which combines spaces for residents and visitors, quotes government figures showing Hong Kong’s sharing economy could account for 10 per cent of the city’s gross domestic product by 2020. The trend continues in mainland China, particularly in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing.
“The demand from millennials for co-living is huge in mainland China,” says Joe Zhou, head of research, JLL China. “In the past five years alone, there were 43 million new graduates. Given the high housing prices across the country’s Tier 1 and 2 cities, it will take at least three to five years for them to start purchasing their own homes.
