Booming managed residences

On Monday, before the opening of the show, coliving, a large colocation in residences with services, which is spreading at high speed in metropolitan areas, was treated to an exclusively dedicated summit.

Rather intended for young working people, this form of housing took off in France in 2021, with 440 million euros of investment recorded that year by the specialist in business real estate JLL; then 291 million in 2022.

"In France, we are an under-equipped market for co-living and student housing, when we compare it with the British, Spanish, German market", explains Maël Aoustin, CEO of the UXCO group, specializing in co-living and housing. student.

Because the most classic residences for seniors or students are also reinventing themselves.

Number one in student accommodation in France via its subsidiary Studéa, Nexity, whose historic core business - property development - is suffering from a sluggish market, has made the development of managed real estate a pillar of its business strategy.

Bouygues, which entered the senior residences market in 2014, is also accelerating their development, and is also embarking on co-living.

"In both the residential and office sectors, we realize that users are looking for services and an experience. This means that our strategy will shift to this type of asset where we come to operate, manage, and bring this to our customers throughout their residential journey", explains to AFP Olivier Durix, general manager offers and customers of Bouygues Immobilier.

A necessity produced by changes in lifestyles.

“We feel that residential routes are being transformed at both ends,” David Chouraqui, deputy managing director of Crédit Agricole Immobilier, told AFP.

"We are entering a classic residential course later and later: we are going to co-living, moving around, looking for furnished accommodation, there are areas in which it is difficult to find accommodation (...) and on the other end of the spectrum, there is a real transformation of senior housing, with revisited concepts for people who do not want to go to an Ehpad at 4.000 euros per month", he explains.

The money is flowing

With the aging of the population, the need for housing adapted to the loss of autonomy will indeed increase.

It is to this need that senior residences intend to respond, which are aimed at elderly people whose accommodation is no longer suitable, but who are still independent enough to avoid medical establishments.

These residences offer more services than senior condominium residences, which were developed several decades ago.

“The people who go to these residences go there more at the request of the children, because they know their parents are in a secure environment. It reassures them”, explains Florence Sémelin, head of residential investment at JLL. "Otherwise, the senior takes the step when there is an accident in his life, often it is the death of the spouse, he finds himself alone and has a need for socialization".

“We arrive in generations of women who have worked, who have been used to consuming services, have traveled, played sports, and very favorable to entering a senior residence”, she adds.

In France, 200 to 300.000 places in senior residences should be created by 2050, according to a recent study by the High Commission for Planning.

On the other hand, money is flowing in because investors consider residences to be low risk.

In 2022, 448 million euros were invested in student residences in France, according to JLL, and 584 million in senior residences.

"It's a good safe haven product for investors who want to do housing, but with some security. You tick the housing box and you tick the security box," Olivier Bokobza, president of BNP Paribas Real, told AFP. Estate.

"As an investor, it's easier than managing several multi-occupancy apartments", also says Nicolas Verdillon, director of investments at CBRE. "It's a good way to invest and protect yourself from inflation."