As traditional real estate sectors mature, investors are increasingly looking to residential rental housing, co-living, student accommodation and data centres for growth. While demand drivers remain strong, these sectors are still evolving, with questions around regulation, financing, market liquidity and operational models shaping investment decisions. At Future of Real Estate 2026, industry leaders discussed where the biggest opportunities lie and what needs to happen for these asset classes to scale further in Poland and across CEE.

According to Savills, about half (51%) of European investors plan to invest in co-living developments in the next three years, and, compared to 2022, co-living projects are where investor interest has grown the most. Market players, including Lithuania-based investor Baltic Asset Management, see big potential for projects of this type in the Czech market as well. The company’s CFO, Dalius Kaveckas, shared his insights with Property Forum.

Lithuanian investors Baltic Asset Management and Hanner have acquired a hotel in Prague to convert it into a co-living project called Youston. The total investment is estimated at €14 million, Hanner, the financial partner of the project, confirmed to Property Forum.

The pandemic has changed the way we live and work. We still do not know whether these changes will be temporary or permanent in nature and whether they will stay with us, even when the threat of the disease is behind us. The uncertainty of the new and unprecedented situation has impacted all real estate sectors to a lesser or greater extent. Sharing of space, which is one of the key principles underpinning co-living, appears to be the absolute opposite of pandemic isolation. Contrary to appearances, this type of accommodation where in addition to sharing space residents also share a set of interests and values may be an easier and more enjoyable way of staying in quarantine, especially for lonely people and those living far from their families. Małgorzata Dziubińska, Associate Director at Cushman & Wakefield, says about co-living in the new reality.

Co-living has become a buzzword on the real estate market, but sharing living space, interests and values can benefit not only young people, corporate professionals or students. Cushman & Wakefield’s latest insight report “Co-living – a new era for the real estate investment market in Poland” explores senior housing. Forecasts by the Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS) indicate that by 2050 the number of Polish people aged 60 and over will have risen by approximately 52%. Co-living therefore represents both an opportunity for retirees to enjoy a new lifestyle and a trend that has a strong growth potential.