September 2023: co-living and rooming houses go mainstream
QLD planning reforms expanded permissible co-living typologies. Investor enquiry into 6–8 bed rooming-house product spiked.
Why it worked
Per-room rents in Brisbane co-living ran $230–$320/week. An 8-bed asset on a single title delivered $1,900–$2,500/week gross — yields of 7.5–9.0% on a sub-$1.4m buy-in. Federally compliant as a new build, fully depreciable, NRAS-style tenant pools.
The risk profile
Co-living is operational. Management intensity is closer to short-stay than long-stay residential. Investors who under-estimated the management overhead under-performed; investors who selected high-quality operators outperformed every other residential sub-class through 2023–2024.
Dax Stanley
Founder & Principal Strategist, Hera Property. #1 international bestselling author of Real Estate Investing Using ChatGPT.