CO-LIVING AS AN INNOVATIVE REAL ESTATE PRODUCT: INSIGHTS FROM DEVELOPERS

The concept of co-living rose to prominence in the last decade, with people’s searches for co-living increasing dramatically since 2015 worldwide. The purpose of this research is to reveal the developer’s insights and perceptions about the newly introduced co-living system in Malaysian society. Since co-living in Malaysia is still in its infancy, this study aims to explore the emerging trends in co-living. Twenty-five developers’ opinions were collected through face-to-face interviews and thematic analysis was performed to analyze the qualitative data. Key themes for emerging trends in co-living have been identified and organized into four sections: (i) adoption of co-living as a business model; (ii) potential advantages of co-living; (iii) barriers/challenges to co-living projects; and (iv) future trends for a living. Findings are expected to contribute to a better understanding of co-living in Malaysia.