Singapore's Coliving Consolidation Play
9,000 rooms with the top 3 operators controlling 50% market share
Today’s Brief:
The Fundamentals Are Different Here
Institutional Money Is Quietly Flooding In
Three Ways Singapore Operators Are Winning
Why This Could Still Go Wrong
What Global Markets Should Steal
The View From 2027
The Bottom Line
While Western coliving operators navigate restructurings, Singapore has quietly grown to 9,000 rooms with 90%+ occupancy rates. The real story isn't survival—it's aggressive consolidation creating a playbook for global markets.
We acquired the first coliving site in Leeds, UK three years ago (at PLG). Getting planning permission alone took three years. Meanwhile, The Assembly Place acquired both Commontown Singapore and 120 Libeto rooms in 2024. The contrast teaches an important lesson about market structure.
The Fundamentals Are Different Here
Coliving - professionally managed shared living with flexible leases - has struggled to find sustainable economics in many Western markets. High operational costs and resistance to density create persistent headwinds.
Singapore flips this equation. The city-state's 9,000 co-living rooms across 20 providers maintain consistent high occupancy. This isn't lifestyle choice - it's structural necessity.
Limited land makes density inevitable. Government policy supports rather than fights high-density living. Singapore's economy depends on foreign workers needing flexible, furnished accommodation. These are structural realities, not venture-backed assumptions.
The consolidation is already happening. Coliwoo leads with 32% market share at 96.7% occupancy. The top three operators control nearly 50% of total supply. This concentration came through acquisition, not organic growth.
Institutional Money Is Quietly Flooding In
BlackRock's moves signal institutional confidence. Their Weave Living joint venture acquired Citadines Mount Sophia for S$148 million, then added Momentus Serviced Residences for S$100 million. Weave now operates 330 rooms across three properties.
"Nearly half of investors prefer to partner with operators to reduce risk and enhance value through collaboration," notes JLL's Singapore co-living analysis.
The economics work. Coliwoo charges S$1,300-2,000 monthly. Cove starts from S$800. These premiums over traditional rentals are justified by convenience and flexibility.
The surprise: Local tenants now represent one-third of Coliwoo's residents, up from 10%. Singaporeans are choosing co-living for practical reasons, not just expats.
Three Ways Singapore Operators Are Winning
1. Buy Don't Build
Singapore's winners acquire operational assets rather than developing. The Assembly Place bought Commontown and 120 Libeto rooms in 2024. Dash Living entered via Easycity acquisition. Habyt merged with Hmlet.
Acquisition delivers instant occupancy, proven locations, and no planning delays. While new developments face construction risk and lease-up periods, acquired portfolios generate immediate cash flow.
2. Partner for Capital, Focus on Operations
Warburg Pincus backs Weave Living. BlackRock provides institutional capital. This partnership model lets operators focus on operations while institutions handle capital.
Traditional developers struggle with coliving operations. Pure operators lack expansion capital. Singapore bridges this gap through structured partnerships.
3. Use Saturation as Opportunity
Market saturation accelerates consolidation. JLL notes new launches are slowing—this isn't a problem, it's the catalyst.
Weak operators with subscale portfolios face rising costs without operational leverage. Strong operators acquire these assets at discounts and achieve economies of scale. The next 18 months are Singapore's roll-up window.
Why This Could Still Go Wrong
Singapore's success isn't guaranteed. Key risks:
Density ceiling: Nine thousand rooms might be the natural limit for a 6 million population.
Policy dependence: Foreign worker visa changes could crater demand overnight.
Yield compression: As institutional capital floods in, returns tighten. Early movers got strong yields; new entrants face squeezed margins.
Cultural resistance: Many still view coliving as transitional housing, capping the addressable market.
Cycle sensitivity: Singapore property corrections hit hard due to limited land supply.
What Global Markets Should Steal
UAE Developers
Government alignment beats market size. Dubai's workforce is similar to Singapore's foreign worker dynamics. Focus on practical workforce solutions before lifestyle coliving.
Partner with Asian operators - they achieve 96.7% occupancy at densities Western models can't touch.
US/UK Operators
Stop fighting planning permission in hostile markets. Go where governments need solutions.
The consolidation window is short. Singapore's 2024 M&A activity shows how fast markets consolidate once momentum builds.
Community is key, yes. But don’t forget basic unit economiocs. Singapore's 90%+ occupancy comes from location and convenience, not just yoga classes.
Investors
Find markets with foreign worker dependency, government density support, and limited land. Singapore has all three.
Back consolidators, not innovators. Habyt-Hmlet and Weave's expansion show roll-up value creation.
The View From 2027
Singapore's model will expand to Dubai, Hong Kong, Tokyo - markets where density is necessary and governments support it.
Coliving becomes infrastructure like student housing. The "community" story fades; operational efficiency dominates.
Western markets stay fragmented. Asian markets consolidate rapidly. The arbitrage: apply Asian operational models to select Western markets with similar fundamentals.
The Bottom Line
Singapore demonstrates how consolidation creates value from market stress. The playbook: acquire subscale operators, integrate operations, achieve portfolio density, attract institutional capital.
Receiving the planning permission for the first coliving site in a UK regional city taught me that fighting market structure is expensive. Singapore shows that working with market structure - government support, density needs, foreign workers - accelerates everything.
The Assembly Place's two acquisitions, Weave-BlackRock's S$248 million deployed, and Habyt-Hmlet's merger point to one conclusion:
Consolidation is the path to sustainable coliving.
P.S - I wrote about why 90% of coliving companies will dissapear back in April - check it out.
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Sources
Buy Sell Rent SG. "Emerging Coliving Business Trend 2023-2025." April 29, 2024. https://buysellrent.sg/coliving-business-trend-for-the-next-few-years/
The Business Times. "Is Singapore's co-living market still a good investment?" May 20, 2025. https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/singapores-co-living-market-still-good-investment
99.co. "The future of co-living spaces in Singapore in the next five years." May 22, 2024. https://www.99.co/singapore/insider/co-living-future-singapore-next-five-years/
Mingtiandi. "Weave-BlackRock JV Buying Singapore Citadines From CLAS." February 12, 2025. https://www.mingtiandi.com/real-estate/finance/weave-blackrock-jv-buying-singapore-citadines-from-clas/
Mingtiandi. "Weave, BlackRock Buy Singapore Apartments From Roxy-Pacific." May 22, 2025. https://www.mingtiandi.com/real-estate/finance/weave-blackrock-buying-singapore-apartments-from-roxy-pacific/
Habyt. "Habyt merges with Hmlet." April 11, 2024. https://www.habyt.com/it/press/habyt-turns-5-merges-with-hmlet-and-becomes-the-largest-co-living-player-worldwide
Grand Dunman. "Singapore's mature co-living market is attracting increased investor interest." May 2025. https://www.grand-dunman.sg/singapores-mature-co-living-market-is-attracting-increased-investor-interest/