Survey sees major shift towards professionally managed shared facility

The Student Accommodation Providers Association of India (SAPFI) and CBRE South Asia on July 22 released the findings of its survey on shared accommodation – one of the growing segments of the real estate sector in the country. 

According to the survey, 63 per cent operators are expecting a major shift towards professionally managed facilities.

The findings further highlight that the product mix and offerings by operators will witness a shift towards single and double occupancy rooms given the need and consumer preference for social distancing. A higher value will be attached to cleanliness and hygiene standards of these new asset classes or professionally managed student accommodation and co-living facilities. Additionally, over 50 per cent of the operators responded that they will be looking at expanding the bed capacity in their facilities.

The survey was jointly conducted by SAPFI and CBRE during the month of June and July 2020 and included operators from the professionally- managed student accommodation (PMSA) and co-living segments. 

Commenting on the survey findings, Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO, India, South East Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE, said, “Professionally managed shared accommodations are considered to be globally established asset classes in the real estate industry and developers are increasingly viewing co-living/student housing as a natural extension of their businesses. The COVID-19 global pandemic has clearly brought forward the need for quality student accommodation facilities across the country. Besides, going forward health and wellness will be the major focus among developers, and they will be putting a lot of emphasis on integrated developments as well.”

Kaushal Mahan, Convener, SAPFI commented “The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the booming shared accommodation industry including student housing and co-living. But with the changing consumer preference, the industry will soon be turning the present crisis into an opportunity and contributing to the government vision on “Getting Growth Back”. To ensure this growth, we will closely be continuing to work with the Centre and state governments for further bringing favourable policy and regulatory ecosystem for our members”.