Live in a 'coliving', work in a 'coworking' and do 'nesting' on the weekends: new trends or precarious living?

Nuria Triguero

Friday, 21 February 2025, 16:18

There are no limits to creativity in the emergence of new trends. In this digital age, networks and influencers feed off each other in a never-ending cycle, inventing words to describe the latest viral craze. Colouring mandalas, getting up at 5am to "be more productive," following a carnivore diet, making desserts with only three ingredients, staying in bed for days or being "an old-fashioned housewife." These fads are fleeting and perfect for making headlines but they are forgotten as quickly as they become popular.

Trend-setting is behind many marketing and advertising campaigns. The real estate sector, which used to simply sell houses or offices, is now particularly prolific in this area. There is a whole dictionary of new terms from "alternative assets" to new housing concepts including 'co-living', 'flex living', 'flex offices', 'coworking', 'senior living', 'cohousing' and 'build to rent'.

Benjamín del Alcázar, dean of the Faculty of Commerce and Management and professor of Marketing and Market Research at the University of Malaga explains that all these new real estate trends "respond to the needs that are emerging in the market," and "provide something different, with value added. Marketing is not just about advertising something; one must know the needs of his audience and design the product accordingly," he points out." For example, 'flex living' responds to a demand that exists in the market, namely that of workers who are going to spend a few months in a city and so neither a tourist rental nor a long term rental would be suitable," he adds.

Some of these new living models, Del Alcázar points out, are actually variations of "things that already existed." For example, on the Costa del Sol there were already some urbanisations designed for the retired, consisting of indiviual properties with common areas and services. They were communities that in many cases emerged organically through cooperatives. The 'senior living' of today has successfully 'marketed' this idea.

Here is a dictionary to avoid getting lost in this maze of new words.

"It is an innovative housing alternative that has emerged in the digital age. It implies being always connected and is increasingly popular among the younger generations." This is how this living model is defined by a champion of coliving. "Living in a luxury hall of residence until the age of 40" was the definition offered in an article in El País back in 2019. The concept began to make waves in Spain as early as 2017, arriving from Silicon Valley, where the emergence of this living arrangement came from the difficulty for young digital sector entrepreneurs to find accomodation in San Francisco (sound familiar?).

'Coliving' is similar to a student residence, though it is targeted at young adults, who live in single or shared rooms (often ensuite) and share a kitchen, dining room, living room, work area and occasionally a gym. They have benefits such as wifi, cleaning, a cafeteria and invitations to parties and events organised in the building. They are rented on a short or medium-term basis.

Originally, coliving was designed to bring together people with shared interests, specifically entrepreneurs, digital nomads and young professionals. However, the 'co-living' buildings that are so prolific in cities like Malaga do not have a restrictive criteria for their tenants. The shortage of rental housing has turned them into a (not exactly cheap) alternative to shared flats. Students coming to study Spanish are among the most common tenant profiles.

Note: the term 'coliving' is being used in Malaga to advertise spaces that do not correspond to the concept explained above (a building with common areas and services designed to foment community), but are simply shared flats managed by companies.

Cohousing was originally a different concept from 'coliving', though now they are sometimes used interchangeably. Cohousing is a community of private houses or flats that share common spaces, activities and services. There is usually a shared kitchen and dining areas, laundry, children's areas, gym and other common spaces. Cohousing is designed to encourage interaction between neighbours and is promoted and managed by its users.

This model emerged in Denmark in the 1960s and has since spread to other countries. In Spain, there are examples of this type of community, some of them for retired people.

'Flex living' is a vague concept, somewhere between 'coliving' and 'aparthotel', which is applied to temporary accommodation (for weeks or months), ranging from rooms to studios or flats, normally with access to services such as cleaning, wifi and common areas. It is one of the housing models that is increasingly popular as a result of high rental costs. It offers developers and landlords the opportunity to avoid price limits established by the Housing Law, as well as reducing the risk of non-payment.

In Malaga, there are several projects under way that follow this formula, such as the former Portillo depot, on Avenida de Velázquez.

The absence of a specific law on this model of accommodation raises doubts about its future prospects, since renting the flats by the week opens the door to a possible tourist use that would evade the controls established by the Junta and some town councils for holiday rentals.

'Senior living' complexes are an alternative to retirement homes that allow greater independence for users, as they live in their own flats and have access to services and common areas as they wish. These may include a dining room, cafeteria, gym, laundry, medical care, cleaning, physiotherapist and leisure activities. They are designed for elderly people who want to maintain their independence while allowing the possibility of socialising with people of their age and getting involved in leisure, sporting or cultural activities.

These facilities are inspired by the cohousing communities popular from the 1960s onwards among retired people from Northern Europe on a cooperative basis, some of them on the Costa del Sol. In its current form, 'senior livings' are not self-managed by their owners but instead are promoted and operated by specialised companies and tenants have access to them on a rental basis. It is a sector that is receiving multi-million dollar investments and the Costa del Sol is one of the preferred areas for its development in Europe.

Coworking spaces are flourishing in Malaga due to the city's boom as a destination for technology companies and digital nomads and the severe shortage of office buildings. In certain parts of the city, especially in the city centre and further east, open-plan offices have been set up where businesses can rent work spaces. Some of them belong to specialised chains such as Monday or Impact Hub. Freelance professionals rub shoulders with companies that, faced with the impossibility of finding their own office, accommodate their workers in these spaces.

Originally, coworking was more than a shared office, it was a work philosophy that allowed freelancers, entrepreneurs and SMEs to develop their professional ventures independently, while fostering joint projects. Spain is considered a coworking paradise, with around 1,400 of these spaces, and Malaga is one of the hot spots.

The term 'flex office' is used synonymously with 'coworking', but typically they are workspaces that companies can change as they wish according to their needs. In a 'flex office' it is possible to rent offices, meeting rooms, open-plan work areas, and rest areas. All the services that a company may require are located in the building.

The term Build To Rent or more precisely "housing built to rent" describes properties that are purposely built to be used on a long term rental basis. There are developers specialising in this business and in Malaga there are already numerous projects underway, such as 292 homes planned by Lagoom Living in the neighbourhood of Distrito Zeta or the block of fifty flats which the Almeria-based developer Zertum is building in Ciudad Jardín.

'Carsharing': This is a very short-term vehicle rental model, in which the user pays by the minute or hour. It is attractive to customers who want to make occasional use of a car, motorbike, bicycle or scooter. These systems operate through mobile applications and their vehicles are electric. Surveys suggest that 'Gen Z' have a preference for these pay-as-you-go systems over car ownership.

'Emotional salary': These are benefits and rewards that an employee receives for his/her work that are not financial in nature. These include, for example, greater flexibility and measures to facilitate a better work-life balance.

DINK: Acronym of the expression 'Double Income, No Kids', refers to a couple where both work but do not have children. Traditionally, this type of household was associated with wealth and a luxurious lifestyle, but increasingly among the younger generations, there is another demographic. These are couples who, even with two salaries, do not see it viable to have children due to the high cost of housing and low wages.

'Cocooning': This trend can be summed up as the decision to stay at home instead of going out. It consists of enjoying the pleasures that home activities bring, whether alone, as a couple or with the family. This includes, but is not limited to, taking a bubble bath, cooking, taking care of the plants, playing chess, meditating or binge-watching a series. The irony is that this trend hit the headlines in the midst of lockdown, when staying at home was not exactly a voluntary decision.

'Loud budgeting': The aim of this trend is to encourage people to speak clearly, responsibly and transparently about their finances on social media, with the aim of offering a realistic view of their household finances and spreading a sensible model for managing household budgets. It is a reaction to the emergence of 'influencers' who display a luxurious and ostentatious lifestyle.

'Minijob': This concept has not yet reached Spain, but there are voices in favour of it here. In Germany, this is the name given to a form of low-paid employment contract that is not subject to social security contributions. These 'mini-jobs' consist of occupations whose total duration does not exceed three months. The employer pays only 30% of the contributions. They are popular with retired people and students.

'Quiet ambition': A philosophy of life attributed to Gen Z that involves prioritising mental health, leisure time and personal well-being over career ambition, promotions and long working hours.

'Coduching' : One of the most ridiculous so-called trends in 2022. At the height of the electricity and gas shortage, the idea was to shower as a couple in order to save water and energy and, at the same time, have a good time. Strangely, the origin of this meme was the Swiss environment minister, who launched this proposal to encourage savings.