Co-living companies combine technology with ground operations to offer an end-to-end housing experience. (Photo: Pixabay)

Be it Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, all Indian metro cities have one thing in common – the property prices are ridiculously high due to the acute land shortage. While property sales have declined significantly in the past few years, affordable housing still remains a far-fetched dream for Indians. As a result, people started turning to shared accommodation facilities such as co-living spaces. The co-living trend has caught up with India, with students and young working professionals opting for community-centred living environments as opposed to conventional PGs or hostels where facilities are limited. The co-living sector in India, although currently at an emerging stage, has the potential to become a USD 93 billion market, as per a recent report released by PropTiger. Multiple factors have contributed to the growing demand for co-living spaces, the most significant of which is the intervention of technology.

Up until recently, India’s residential rental market was unorganized in most parts. Simultaneously, there existed a huge demand and supply gap in housing, forcing millions to live in dilapidated homes. In fact, several surveys demonstrated that a large percentage of India’s population had to stay in rooms sans basic amenities. While the government took a slew of measures to tackle the challenge, there remained a shortfall in quality housing without proper infrastructure. The advent of co-living spaces, however, has helped bridge this gap to a great extent. Co-living companies combine technology with ground operations to offer an end-to-end housing experience. From the point of searching the ideal property to finalizing of the contract, the heavy reliance on technology, without a doubt, has worked in favour of the major players in the co-living sector. Furthermore, co-living space providers also offer an extensive range of services that go beyond contract closure. For instance, CCTV surveillance, on-demand maintenance support and high-speed internet connection.

Virtual tour of properties

From setting up an appointment with the landlord to visiting the property, house-hunting in a new city can be tiring as well as time-consuming. Realizing this, leading co-living companies have added the virtual tour option to their websites to simplify the entire process of searching for a house. Virtual tour of properties has put a stop to endless site visits, enabling people to find their perfect abode without venturing outside.

Round-the-clock assistance with chatbots

At a time when instant gratification is the norm, co-living brands have harnessed the power of AI-based chatbots to offer round-the-clock support to customers. Integration of chatbots has helped minimize the wait time as potential and existing customers now can get answers to any property-related queries within seconds. Since most of these chatbots are compatible with various digital platforms, they can access the chatbots anytime from anywhere using a device placed in the palm of their hands.

Hassle-free payment

Even in the post-demonetization era, some traditional landlords only accept cash payments. This can be a problem, especially for millennials who are more comfortable using digital wallets than cash. Co-living space providers allow the tenants to pay their rent through contactless payment methods. Given the growing acceptance of digital payments across the country, the liberty to make payments at the touch a button has undeniably drawn more customers to the co-living sector.

Added security advantage

Co-living spaces offer a robust security network that typically includes 24x7 CCTV surveillance, video door monitoring, facial recognition-based key management, smart alarms and an emergency response team. With urban women becoming increasingly cautious about their safety, the added security advantage is certainly a differentiator for co-living facilities. Some co-living spaces also come with fire and gas leak detection systems and intrusion sensors.

Digital onboarding process

Many col-living companies have made the onboarding process entirely digital, much to the delight of today’s tech-savvy consumers. This means they don’t need to be physically present at the site or meet the property manager in person. By implementing digital channels, co-living brands ensure a faster and seamless onboarding process.

The co-living sector was one of the early adopters of technological innovations such as AI (artificial intelligence), ML (machine learning), chatbots etc. As it’s apparent by mushrooming of co-living spaces, technology has played a crucial role in the industry’s unprecedented growth. Evidently, technology will continue to evolve the co-living space in India, helping Indians conveniently get access to fully amenitized accommodations at affordable prices.

-- By Suresh Rangarajan – Founder and CEO at Colive