Co-living space in India is a $12 bn opportunity. Start-ups better cash in!

The undersupply of student accommodation, coupled with the market size, are a huge draw for developers and start-ups to invest in the space

The co-living space in India is worth $12 billion, according to a RedSeer analysis based on the size of the population of millennials in the urban workforce. The report says the industry, which has an addressable market of 10 million customers, is not winner-takes-all and has plenty of room for many players to grow and reach a sizeable scale.

In India, the undersupply of student accommodation, coupled with the market size, are a huge draw for developers and start-ups. Institutional investors and venture capital firms have found their way to the country, with the likes of Goldman Sachs and Warburg Pincus investing in the sector. Warburg has set up a joint venture with Lemon Tree and will invest Rs 3,000 crore to develop full-service accommodation for students and young working professionals.

In August 2018, HDFC picked up a 25 per cent stake in Good Host Spaces Pvt. Ltd, which offers student housing facilities under the brand name NewDoor (previously Yoho), for Rs 69.5 crore. 

Other big players in the sector are Nestwaway, OYO Living, CoHo, among others.

Over 50 per cent people in the age group of 18-35 years are willing to rent co-living spaces and pay up to Rs 15,000 a month in top Indian cities including Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru, according to a survey by Knight Frank in 2018. Proximity to work and social infrastructure remained the top priority for millennials while selecting a location, while only 5 per cent gave importance to rental costs.

According to a PropTiger report that came out in February this year, total occupancy recorded in hostels within college campuses across India was only 3.4 million students, leading to a demand-supply mismatch of 8.9 million students. This deficit for co-living spaces is currently being met by the unorganised sector, which includes PG accommodation and rental houses, etc.