Co-living operators might take over unsold housing societies

6/25/2020 4:11:00 PM

Real estate developers and co-living operators are in talk to use unsold housing society as a co-living facility in order to reduce burden of unsold inventory on developers, leading consultants said. According to international property consultant JlL, co-living revenue shared opportunities could increase, with developers looking to monetize their unsold asset. “For a co-living operator, it is a good opportunity as they don’t have to invest in construction of the building. It’s a win win situation for both the developers and operators,” said Siva Krishnan, Managing Director - Residential Services, JLL India. Stanza Living, a manager accommodation provider said that it has been receiving requests from developer to take the building and convert it into a co-living facility. Anindya Dutta, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Stanza Living said that managed living offers developers the potential to earn higher yields on their assets. “We have received strong inbound interest from real estate players and developers in the last few months for collaboration to cater to the accommodation needs of the young migrant millennials including students and working professionals. We are in active discussions with a group of these developers to forge mutually beneficial, long-lasting partnerships,” said Dutta. “We have already partnered with a few reputed developers across Bangalore, Pune, Chennai for large-scale managed accommodation projects. We are in ongoing discussions with other reputed developers who are looking to collaborate with us for their built-to-suit projects or converting existing inventory into managed accommodation options, as these are in line with our growth story,” he added. According to a report by EY India, the student housing sector may consolidate in the next few months, with some smaller operators exiting, resulting in stronger operators with sustainable financial and operational model. “In the ‘new normal’ of a world in which we co-exist with COVID-19, there are many challenges which are from the pre-COVID-19 era unsold inventory is one such challenge, but the solutions will have to be in sync with the ‘new normal’. So, in terms of efficiency and being cost-effective, yes, co-living spaces will work out as one of the possible solutions to unsold inventory, so long as you understand the ‘new normal’ of a COVID-19 world. As long as appropriate social distancing discipline and norms are followed, co-living can emerge as a viable solution to unsold inventory,” said Niranjan Hiranandani, President, National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO). Source: The Economic Times

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