South Korea: Real estate services and investment manager JLL predicts that the coliving sector will continue to grow in the coming year.
According to JLL’s research, young single-person households, college students and international students are the largest targets for coliving housing. Young single-person households gravitate towards coliving housing because of its convenience, while college students and international students prefer coliving when dormitories are in short supply.
Coliving housing provides various shared spaces, such as kitchens, coworking spaces, gyms and libraries, along with various private spaces. In Korea, coliving housing provides the opportunity to choose a degree of sharing while providing advantages of individual independence and community.
Veronica Shim, head of research for JLL Korea, said: “With the growth of the corporate rental housing market, competition among co-living operators will only intensify, as will concurrent investor interest. In Korea, we see the growth of the corporate rental housing market, along with the expansion of the monthly rental market. Various co-living operators such as affiliates of large corporations and coworking startups are entering the market, providing further proof of the prospects of this emerging asset class. More recently, competition has intensified due to the increase in foreign capital inflows.”
JLL claims that as of May 2025, the median area of units under 40 square metres in coliving assets in Seoul is around 23 square metres, while the median monthly rent for units under 40 square metres is about 1.5 times higher than officetels, a multipurpose building that combines residential and commercial spaces.
JLL also claims that joint ventures between asset management companies and co-living operators are increasing, with foreign investors actively joining the Korean rental housing market.
Shim said: “The sector will be boosted by a positive outlook for rental housing market, expected to bolster by REITs and government support. The demand for rental housing is increasing due to the change to monthly rental agreements and the increase in single-person households. As domestic and foreign investors actively enter the rental housing market, more and more projects are developing and operating unsold officetels as rental housing.”
Highlights:
● According to JLL, coliving housing is expected to grow in Korea despite the rise in single-person households.
● Coliving offers a mix of private and shared spaces, such as kitchens, co-working area, gyms and libraries.
● Rental housing trends are shifting, with unit sizes under 40 square metres renting for 1.5 times more than officetels.
● Investor and operator interest is growing, with a rising number of joint ventures with asset managers.
