Cooperatives have been around for decades. They allow for the members to benefits of the usage of the real estate asset usually for a fraction of the cost of traditional condominiums. In certain countries - such as Denmark - pension funds and other large public owned investment vehicles actively invest in coops for their social benefit as much as for their resilience.
In the last few years, we have seen the rise of coliving spaces - mostly in the form of large corporate coliving buildings which reduce the cost of living and the burden of having to furnish an apartment and set up utilities. These forms of building governance however do not solve the issue of aligning the interests between stakeholders in the building. They generate additional income for the owners, but the benefits to the tenants are somewhat limited.
On another hand, the more community driven coliving concepts that currently exists, such as Roam, Outsite, Embassy Network etc. usually are at such a high price point that they are only available to a few elite entrepreneurs.
See our coliving positioning map
At Oasa, we believe that the only way to create coliving spaces that will have a lasting impact on our societies is to create more alignment between stakeholders. And the best way to do that is by creating not for profit cooperatives that allow for communities of likeminded members to live together without extracting the profits to some venture capital firms.
Let us learn from the long track record of existing coops and put that in a modern coliving context that facilitates community and personal growth.
We hope you are as excited as we are to see these new forms of cohabiting and owning homes together. You can read about how we envision building a sustainable cooperative castle.