It was great to attend the Bisnow UK's Co-Living Summit this morning. Fantastic to hear from some of the most influential and knowledgeable experts in the sector as well as connect with like-minded professionals to discuss the latest trends in shared living. Key take aways from today:
1). There is a conscious shift by some in the sector to re-brand Co-Living as Studio-Led Build-To-Rent (SBTR). This is proving to be a successful approach, resonating with investors, planners, and industry professionals. The shift in terminology has been beneficial from an investment and debt perspective, as a result of the shared living product being considered a sub-category of the well established BTR model.
2). Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), factors are playing an increasingly crucial role in the sector. This is not only important for attracting and retaining residents on optimised rents, but also for securing institutionally backed investment for development. It was clear that it is paramount that Developers and Operators collaborate to share data for the continuous evolution of the sector to meet the needs to their future residents.
3). The Co-Living / Purpose Built Shared Living (PBSL) / Studio-Led BTR (SBTR) sector is seeing significant growth in the major cities in the UK. As a result of the sector becoming more established, yield spreads between Co-Living and BTR have closed, and stabilised co-living assets are trading more closely to BTR. Increases in rental values have helped to ensure return on investment, however construction cost inflation, increasing running costs and the cost of living crisis still remain a risk to this model.
It was fantastic to hear such positivity around this sub-sector and the impressive growth it has experienced in the last few years, however it is clear that this remains a complex equation to balance in a challenging UK Residential Market. At Cast Consultancy, we pride ourselves on finding solutions for our clients to navigate the complexities of the UK construction industry, so please reach out if you’re looking for forward thinking, dynamic advice from our leading UK Residential experts.
#CoLiving #SBTR #BTR #UKResidentialMarket #UKLiving #ESG #BISNOW
