Hong Kong Residential 1H/2019

While companies are renting co-working spaces and travelers are communing through ride-sharing apps, young millennials are now sharing their living space with each other. Ranked as the top global consumer trend for 2018 by Euromonitor, the concept of co-living is a form of short-term housing where residents share living space and also a set of values. It taps into the urban millennial market, offering flexibility, fully-furnished space, and a social network for tenants to live with others of a similar age, experience and mindset.

Sky-high rents and prices are one of the key demand drivers for co-living. According to Savills rental index, rents in Hong Kong have more than doubled, from 94.3 in Q1/2009 to 196.7 in Q1/2019, while our price index has skyrocketed from 154.0 in Q1/2009 to 479.3 in Q1/2019, reflecting poor local housing affordability. A 2019 Demographia Report meanwhile revealed that the Hong Kong housing market is the least affordable among 309 markets with a house price-to-income ratio of 20.9. Things are not much better on the public housing front, where the average waiting time has risen to 5.5 years. It is therefore no surprise that young millennials are now searching for cheaper alternatives in the private rental market. Co-living seems like an obvious choice if you are willing to share living space in order to save money on rent.