Co-working, co-living sectors buck pandemic to emerge as new asset class

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SME Times News Bureau | 27 Jul, 2021
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we live and work, towards a new normal lifestyle, which has created vast opportunities for shared spaces in terms of co-working and co-living as an emerging asset class for futuristic growth in the real estate sector.

Addressing a webinar, National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) President Niranjan Hiranandani noted Covid has disturbed the momentum in the co-working space as businesses are going through a phase of uncertainty and are trying to figure out how things would evolve and it would be the responsibility of the co-working companies to design customised space in sync with evolving needs of industry players, inclusive of scale, modularity and sustainability.

Exuding confidence over the outlook for the sector, Hiranandani said that he felt extremely bullish on this segment and indicated that if the IT industry takes a turn towards co-working spaces, then there would be major growth for this realty asset class.

The webinar was organised by NAREDCO along with Cushman & Wakefield.

Hiranandani also mentioned that there will be a rise in hub and spoke model in commercial real estate on the back of dispersed portfolio towards suburban business districts in wake of decongestion and avoid long haul commute to promote employee wellness and productivity.

Cushman & Wakefield's Managing Director, India & South East Asia, Anshul Jain felt that while the co-working spaces are currently more attractive than ever before, co-living, has been temporarily impacted by the pandemic largely due to work-from-home policies.

He was of the view that co-working spaces are the need of the hour for corporate occupiers in these uncertain times as they offer smart business solutions to enterprises in the form of flexibility, CAPEX savings, and new-age design that seeks to promote the organisational culture and a collaborative work environment.

In regard to the co-living spaces, he said that co-living and other associated asset classes such as student housing and industrial living a boost, as travelling becomes safe, vaccinations gain momentum and India's large young and the migrant population returns to work.