The future of real estate lies in its amalgamation with service. Be it co-living or coworking, real estate consumption is dependent on the ecology a property can create for the dreams and hopes of bubbling creative young entrepreneurs or professionals - who will hire the space provided it helps them with an environment conducive to feed their growth.
Cost rationalisation and creative use of space together have created a win-win opportunity for people who have a need for real-estate space for office and residence on one hand and among those who have such inventory to offer. A prolonged slowdown of the Real Estate sector has brought many dynamic changes with - realtors and developers are constantly on their toes to spot the trends for the big opportunity again.
A paradigm shift of living and working in a society based on collaboration, networking, value creation and ideas sharing has created the need for spaces for co-living and co-working. When you bring life into traditional paying guest accommodation and hostels you create co-living spaces. Co-living is not just about an accommodation, it is about adding value to your living environment to help create a rich experience for your life so you can cultivate yourself and create high value in your work-life as well. With co-living, real estate residential rentals actually has taken a giant step forward. Co-living is also where hospitality and accommodation meet. Both co-living and coworking is driven by the start-up economy and help serve the people in this economy. It is not just the trend of times but also need of times. What co-living is to residential real-estate; coworking is to commercial real estate.
When life is breathed into business centers, it creates the coworking experience. Co-working creates just the right mix of vibrancy and infrastructure support that a new business needs, complete with mentoring, exchanges and other support needed for growth and expansion. Even traditional real-estate players have now realised the opportunity that exists in the field of serviced accommodation and shared possession. For investors, this is the best to get the property out in the market rather than waiting for the perfect sale. For users, this is a win-win opportunity as it does not involve long term contracts and there are multiple methods of booking a coworking space or a co-living space. The sheer flexibility makes shared living and working a winning experience. Some established developers like Experion and Tribeca are exclusively trying to build real estate that cater to student housing and co-living. Hence, going forward with an increasing amalgamation between real estate and service, new real estate would also stand a chance to stand a design and concept revolution.
With growth-driven players already having made a move forward towards this direction, the competition amongst the increasing number of coworking space operators is becoming intense. The most important role of a successful coworking space is in creating a thriving environment for its occupants and building a community around passion and professional excellence.
The next step towards standing out as a co-working space operator or a co-living service provider is certainly going to be about attracting talent and offering customised experiences. The future looks good for the co-working spaces in India as much as anywhere else in the world. The industry stands to win from its contribution towards innovation and empowerment.
The disruption which has come in the office space industry would eventually turn up in creating a flourishing, modern and robust economy in India – giving the real-estate sector a shot in the arm that it needs today to reinvent itself.
The author is the Founder, Spaciya Advisors.