Uniti Montrose, a coliving multifamily complex, opened in Montrose in June. CoHousing Houston, a cohousing development, will open in September in the east end.
Communal living, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is a housing arrangement where individuals or families often share common spaces and facilities. In a November 2020 report by Cushman and Wakefield, a global real estate company, officials attributed the launch of coliving projects in Houston to an increased cost of living and lack of inventory.
The overview
The first two coliving concepts broke ground in Houston in 2022 two months apart. Ground broke in September 2022 on the 374-bed, nine-story Uniti Montrose, and pre-leasing began in June.
Residents can rent a private room, which includes a bed, nightstand, desk and private bathroom, in a three- or four- bedroom apartment, project officials said. Roommates share the fully-furnished living room and kitchen. The property also offers traditional studio, one- and two- bedroom units along with a variety of amenities.
Uniti Montrose features include:
- Fully furnished
- Housekeeping services in common areas
- Utilities included
- Necessities stocked
- Library, meeting rooms
Houston will also see its first cohousing community this year. Cohousing, according to the Cohousing Association of the United States, provides self-contained private units and individual home ownership.
CoHousing Houston, located at 114 Delmar St., will offer a mix of one- to four-bedroom homes that will face inward toward a 4,000-square-foot common house with guest rooms and a community dining space, as well as two flex rooms, a pool, playground and garden.
CoHousing Houston features include:
- Common house with guest rooms
- Community dining space
- On-site compositing
- Shared internet service
Lynn Morstead and Kelli Soika, creators of the CoHousing Houston model, said bringing the concept of cohousing to the city was about building relationships and creating a shared community.
“It’s designed for connection,” Morstead said. “It is designed to increase your chances of running into other community members. Here, we want you to get to know your neighbors. We are kind of counterculture in the real estate market that way.”
According to the World Economic Forum, a nonprofit international advocacy group, the No. 1 benefit to communal living is the ability to socialize.
Jorge Adler, director of investments for Civitas Capital Group, a developer of Uniti Montrose, said coliving, like cohousing, is also designed to create community connections.
“People really enjoy living in coliving communities because they are able to meet other people,” he said. “By default you are getting to meet roommates that you may or may not previously know, and the operations of the building itself also has a big emphasis on community. You are encouraged to go out and work and live in other parts of the building. That generates even more community.”
The National Institutes of Health found in a 2020 study that cohousing decreases isolation in seniors, positively impacts residents’ quality of life and has both physical and mental health benefits.
Soika, who lived in a cohousing unit in Colorado before moving to Houston, said another benefit of cohousing is sustainability.
“Our homes are intentionally smaller, and because we spend more time together, we use our resources more wisely,” she said.
Homes in CoHousing Houston are equipped with solar panels and geothermal heat exchange. There is also an on-site composting facility and garden, and residents will share internet access.
Officials with the World Economic Forum explored some of the pros and cons of coliving.
Pros:
- More affordable
- Comes with a built-in community
- Creates more socialization
- More sustainable
- Proven to improve mental health
- Full-service amenities
- Less privacy
- Potential conflict with roommates
- The togetherness can be too much
- More restrictive property rights
According to The Shelter Companies, a private real estate company focused on multifamily housing, coliving units provide approximately 20%-30% savings in nominal rent compared to traditional multifamily.
Rent at Uniti Montrose starts at $1,200 for a private bedroom, which includes all utilities, maintenance and the daily cleaning of common areas, including living rooms and kitchens. According to MRI ApartmentData, a real estate data software company, the average cost of rent in the Montrose/Museum/Midtown submarket in May was $1,966.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual median wage for all occupations in the Houston region was $63,510 in May. Experian, a credit reporting company, adivses residents to keep rent within 30% of income, meaning $1,587 per month for the average Houstonian.
Bruce Mcclenny, president of MRI ApartmentData, said he believes the reason coliving has been slow to reach Houston is because of its affordability.
“Some of the elements that cause people to gravitate toward [coliving] is cost,” he said. “Houston, for a big city, is incredibly affordable.”
According to the 2023 C2ER Cost of Living Index, Houston is 28% below the average cost of living among the most populous U.S. metros.
Looking ahead
Mark Drumm, managing partner at The Shelter Companies, said despite Houston’s more affordable cost of living, people still need a cost-effective housing option in the city, especially in more expensive submarkets such as the Heights, River Oaks and Montrose.
He said he anticipates coliving will continue to grow in the region and the state.
“Coliving will expand across the country,” Drumm said. “There is high demand in urban locations within major metropolitan areas; it will become a larger and larger part of the multifamily rental spectrum over time.”
The Shelter Companies and Civitas Capital Group is anticipated to open another coliving project in the Bishop Arts District in Dallas later this year.
