Multigen Living

Could it work for you?

By Erica Rascón on Feb 14, 2018 in News

The new report, As Rents Rise, More Renters Turn to Doubling Up, explores the growing rate of co-living arrangements. Finances were the primary reason for multiple generations and teams of adults sharing a single home. You could benefit from this trend, even if you never considered marketing your units as a co-living floor plans.

Co-living Styles and Motives

Co-living isn’t a recession-era trend. It has been on the rise well since the economy began to recover. The rate of co-living has increased from 39 percent to a whopping 54 percent for people ages 23 to 29.

In multigenerational living, young adults team up with their parents or in-laws to form a single, cost-effective household. On top of saving on rent, co-living allows families to save on utilities, entertainment, and childcare costs.

In addition to families teaming-up under one roof, the research reveals that non-familial teams formed with the same motive. To improve rental affordability, many adults double-up in housing. Without surprise, the co-living trend is most prevalent in the nation’s metros with the highest rents, particularly Los Angeles with a co-living rate of 46 percent and Miami at 41 percent.

So what is the income threshold for co-living? Renters with an annual income near $30,000 or less shared homes more often than their peers with higher incomes. While that income amount varies by metro, renters that choose to share abodes tend to make about 30 percent less than renters who choose to live alone.

Making Co-Living Work for You

How might you benefit from the rising rate of co-renters? If you don’t permit subletting, it may be worth considering. Creating contracts for residents to use can help you remain in control while benefiting from a lower vacancy rate.

Realistically, you probably have several renters subletting a space with or without your consent. By permitting the arrangement and offering a contract, you have greater transparency and control.

Secondly, you can appeal to multigenerational and co-living groups simply by re-evaluating your marketing message. Double-master floor plans are clear choices for co-living yet any rental with two or more bedrooms could be marketed accordingly without much of a reach, especially in markets with top-dollar rents.

Worried about overcrowding? A good rule of thumb is to follow the unit-square-footage-per-person guidelines set by Department of Urban Housing and Development.