Shared offices or co-working spaces have been proliferating since the 2000s. In co-working spaces, employees rent communal workstations, desks, or entire offices on a daily or monthly basis. In large cities, such as New York and London, work stations are leased at $300-400, desks for $600–700, and separate offices for $2,000-3,000 per month.
In addition to working areas, co-working spaces can include conference and seminar rooms, gyms, and cafés. Shared offices usually open in central or evolving districts near the city center and within walking distance of neighborhood amenities.
These properties are becoming increasingly popular. According to Deskmag, the market for co-working spaces around the world grew tenfold between 2011 and 2016: with spaces available rising from 1,130 to 11,300.
Co-living spaces are serviced apartment buildings where studios or bedrooms are rented out on a daily and monthly basis. Rooms in co-living spaces lease at $1,000-2,000 per month, with studios leased at $2,000–3,000 per month on average.
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Investors looking to participate in the co-working, co-living, and pop-up retail market are taking several approaches:
- placing funds into start-ups and earning from their business growth;
- renting or constructing buildings and opening their own businesses;— placing their funds into the construction of buildings in which other companies will open co-working or co-living spaces;
- placing their funds into the construction of buildings in which other companies will open co-working or co-living spaces;
- and investing in funds specializing in these types of property investments.
Smart investors have already realized that the simplest and the most efficient way to invest in shared spaces is to purchase co-living spaces and micro-apartments in promising locations. The threshold to enter the market is relatively low ($100,000 per unit). Management companies oversee the property’s maintenance and dealings with tenants. We recommend investing in properties located in districts where infrastructure is being developed and that will be popular with tenants within a decade.