Undoubtedly, technology has managed to trickle into just about all aspects of human life nowadays. The current state of the sharing economy is just one example of the ubiquitous impact of technology. Airbnb, Uber, and other tech startups are responsible for revolutionizing the way we travel around a city or town and travel to another state or country.
In the past few years, the idea of shared resources has become more people when it comes to the housing market. Communal living has become a cost-effective option in cities where demand has led to a rise in rental property prices. The emergence of communal living is helping fill a void when it comes to the residential marketplace. As a result, there is a considerable amount of buzz when it comes to the startups focusing on communal living. However, an issue that many real estate developers are contemplating is whether communal living has the potential to be more than just a small market niche.
However, communal living today isn’t reminescent of the “hippie” communes of the 1960’s. Common and Commonspace, based in New York City and Syracuse respectively, are developing co-living spaces that are able to offer a sense of community as well as flexibility, which typically cannot be found in traditional rental arrangements.
Most co-living communities are being developed in cities that have a rental rate that is far higher than the national average. San Francisco is one such city, which explains why many startups are targeting San Francisco for development of communal living. Even though rental rates are falling in San Francisco, one will still likely pay about $4,500 for a two-bedroom apartment every month.
Washington D.C. and New York are also popular targets for communal living. In fact, the rental rates in these two cities are some of the highest in the United States.
