Realty firm BDI group enters co-living biz; to invest Rs 50 cr on setting up 10k beds

Realty firm BDI group has forayed into the co-living segment and plans to invest about Rs 50 crore in the next one year to reach 10,000 beds.

Gurugram-based BDI, which has completed more than 15 real estate projects and is currently developing four projects in cities close to the national capital region, has formed a new company Vhive to enter the co-living segment that has gained momentum in the last one year.

"We have entered into co-living business under a new venture Vhive. We have started two centres in Alwar and Bhiwadi to begin with, comprising 200 beds," BDI group MD Ssumit Berry told PTI.

The company is charging Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000 per bed, excluding electricity bill, in these two co-living centres at Bhiwadi and Alwar.

Vhive would soon open co-living facilities in Gurugram, Jaipur, Kota and Indore, he added.

The company plans to expand its presence in Delhi-NCR as well as tier II cities in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

"Our target is to reach 10,000 beds in the next one year," he said.

Berry further said the company has earmarked Rs 50 crore investment for the co-living business.

"We are focusing on industrial towns and educational hubs to provide co-living because there is a huge demand supply gap. While most co-living operators are focusing on metro cities, we want to target tier II and III cities," Berry said.

The company's focus is to provide hassle-free accommodations to students and working professionals at a competitive price, he added.

Recently, many real estate developers including Embassy, Puravankara and Tribeca have decided to enter the co-living business.

According to a report by PropTiger, co-living business has the potential to become a USD 93 billion market annually on rising demand for rental housing from students and professionals.

PropTiger termed the co-living space as "real estate goldmine" that remains largely untapped.

The co-living sector has total untapped demand of about 46.3 million beds, out of which 8.9 million is from student housing, it added.