Living in shared, communal housing is not a new trend, as anyone who lived in a co-op during college might tell you. But co-living, as an investable asset class, is having a moment.

Co-living properties — with shared common areas and other amenities — are a burgeoning multifamily subsector, driven by tenants’ needs for affordability, community and location, reports Cushman & Wakefield in its Survey of the Co-living Landscape report. Cushman & Wakefield notes co-living operators currently manage 3,700 beds, with an emphasis on primary urban markets. And the firm has identified a development pipeline of more than 9,300 beds.

“The way we live is changing,” says Susan Tjarksen, a managing director with Cushman & Wakefield, in a statement. “Goals of homeownership and a suburban lifestyle have given way to more urban and communal preferences for those entering the workforce.”

Earlier this year, co-living operator Quarters, a subsidia