Introduction

Before the pandemic, co-living as a housing solution was already gaining popularity as urbanization caused rents to rise in major cities. Now, the concept of living in accommodations with communal spaces is making a comeback after the pandemic left a rental affordability crisis and loneliness epidemic in its wake.  

Early this year, the largest co-living operator in North America, Common, announced a merger with Habyt, the largest co-living operator for Europe and Asia. The result is a global leader in co-living that will operate 30,000 units worldwide, many of them co-living spaces. It is estimated that there were 74,000 total co-living bedrooms either for-rent or in development in the U.S. in 2022. At the end of 2019, real estate investment firm CBRE found that there were about 5,000 beds in only about 150 co-living communities around the country. It’s a rapidly accelerating trend, and research shows it may have staying power.

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