Co-living is becoming a major opportunity for UK property investors, according to analysis from Excellion Capital.
The research found that the co-living sector in the UK grew quickly, with a 48.6% rise in completed units last year, hitting a record 3,267.
The increase was mainly outside London, where completions jumped by 1,508.2% to 2,155 units in 2024.
London itself saw 1,112 completions, down 46.2% annually, but the capital already has the most established co-living market.
The research also found that in 2024, there were 8,541 planning applications for co-living in the UK, with 6,239 approved, which suggests more growth ahead.
Robert Sadler, vice president of real estate at Excellion Capital, said: “Co-living is interesting in that the demand for it existed long before the concept was properly realised.
“Before co-living, shared living was thought to be the reserve of students and young people who needed the most affordable home possible until they had enough money to move elsewhere.
“HMOs continue to fit this brief perfectly, but they don’t allow for the people who crave the sociability of shared living but also want a high-spec premium home that matches their lifestyle and ambition.”
Sadler added: “Now we’re seeing a significant increase in the number of investors opting to focus on co-living assets instead of HMOs in part because of the ways in which they can help build and diversify a valuable portfolio.
“For example, even a relatively small investor can build a portfolio of local co-living units, holding on to the assets for good yield returns and perhaps even spreading their co-living brand into new locations and cities to keep expanding their portfolio.
“At this point, co-living provides a really interesting exit strategy for investors because they can sell their portfolio of co-living assets to institutional investors.”
