Why investors are taking notice of co-living

Despite a global pandemic, the demand for a lifestyle built around great design and a happy community is still rising amongst millennials. 

With the UK being market leaders in co-living homes, the future offers big opportunities for investors to diversify their portfolios and secure an asset class that can quickly be adjusted, to align with a fluctuating climate

At Scott Baker Properties, our co-living strategy has proven to be highly profitable. We’ve been fortunate to build a great team of professionals, each who share our vision and want to have a positive impact on the property market. From our architect and interior designer, to our town planners and build team, the dedication and impeccably high standards of these people helped us build a portfolio of over £3 million during our first 3 years in business. We have since doubled our portfolio each year and would like to double it again over the next 12 months.

The fast-growing co-living sector greatly benefits from economies of scale. 

Co-living homes are much larger than standard HMOs (houses of multiple occupancy), achieving both higher rental incomes and even higher returns on investments. It’s the focus on design and community which satisfies market demands for millennials who aren’t yet able to get on the property ladder, or who simply don’t want to live alone. For them, the concept of co-living spaces makes perfect sense.

Investors choose to work with us because they are interested in our unique approach to co-living. We look at HMOs differently and that appeals to a lot of people. Moving into 2021, we’re looking to put more emphasis on our co-living brand. We plan to take on at least 1 project per month, continuing to meet market demand. 

Investors choose to work with us because they are interested in our unique approach to co-living. 

Since the outbreak of COVID19, the only change we’ve seen is that housemates now prefer private bathrooms, rather than shared wash facilities. From day 1 we created bedrooms with ensuites, making sure that housemates in our properties had the best living experience. This change therefore, doesn’t affect us.

We are confident in our business strategy and this month, we have some exciting opportunities for new investors. We currently have an opportunity for investors to join us in the creation of a 7-bedroom and 17-bedroom co-living development in Portsmouth. We offer a great solution for those who have savings dwindling away in a bank account, and we know that investing in the creation of co-living homes achieves a better return than other investment options.

People who invest in Scott Baker Properties, invest in the company itself. Those funds are then allocated to the co-living projects in development at that particular time. Many investors like to be hands-off but we also have investors who choose to be more involved in the process. As standard, we offer access to an exclusive investor portal which holds all of our project updates and insight into upcoming opportunities. Of course, regular calls and frequent site visits are always an option too.

Scott Baker Properties is primarily about people. We value the housemates in our co-living homes, as they are our loyal customers. Co-living is by no means a new trend but the re-envisioning of a historic community model that offers many benefits. It is a living environment whereby housemates share resources and space in exchange for lower costs and an enhanced social life. 

An important design element we recognised from the beginning, was to create the opportunity to comfortably work from home. Housemates have the option to work from their bedrooms – where we build in plenty of desk space, or, if they prefer, they can work together at the co-working desks we build into the communal areas. Their wellbeing is paramount, and we look after them by offering design-led homes and nurtured, happy communities to be a part of. 

If you are interested in investing with Scott Baker Properties, email Niall Scott, co-founder, to arrange a call about our investment opportunities.

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