New Business Opportunity: Home Sharing. NewsWire

NewsWire: 7/29/22

• Seniors living in empty houses are renting discounted rooms to young adults. Both sides hugely benefit from this arrangement, but so far not many firms are helping to bring these two sides together. (The Washington Post)
• NH: This WP article offers many anecdotal stories of seniors renting rooms in their homes to young people. The arrangements are beneficial for both parties. The seniors can age in place, have help with chores, and gain some extra cash. Young people can live in a spacious house at a discount. And both parties, reportedly, enjoy the companionship.
• We have covered intergenerational home-sharing in the past. (See “Boomers Want to Age in Place.”) While Boomers are largely open to the idea, very few have actually tried it. Why? There are very few businesses that help organize these living arrangements.
• In the for-profit sector, Nesterly is the only significant player. On its website, seniors list a room for rent, and young people can apply to stay for any number of months. The company provides background checks and sets up multiple meet-and-greets. Hosts earn an average of $6,500 a year. Nesterly takes a small percentage from each party if a lease is signed. 
• Several colleges also run programs that match students with older adults. The most established programs are at Winona State, Quinnipiac, and Berkeley. At Drake University, music majors can live in a retirement community for free if they regularly perform for the residents.
• Clearly, intergenerational home-sharing is an underexplored market with lots of profitable potential. We already know Boomers are interested. And rent prices are still squeezing young adults. In mid-July, the median national rent for a one-bedroom apartment was--hold your breath--$1,450. You can bet it's a lot higher in pricey college towns. And it's still rising: as of July, it's up +11.3% YoY.
• It's only a matter of time before a lot more companies than Nesterly start taking advantage of this opportunity.