Space, no longer the final frontier – the latest tradeable asset in the sharing economy

Space, no longer the final frontier – the latest tradeable asset in the sharing economy

  • In a digital and super connected world of collaborative consumption, everything has become tradeable. The development of the online marketplace means that a spare couch, car seat, hour or skill can all be traded at the click of a button. Space is the latest asset class in this mix.
  • As a tradeable asset class, space is the simplest and most basic of assets, whether it be an empty garage, outdoor shed, front yard, room or attic. Space is unique to other marketplaces because it is so low touch and passive; trading requires nominal effort from a host, and yet is so valuable to a renter.
  • A rapidly growing urban population and migration preference for metropolitan cities means that our cities are becoming severely overcrowded. The great Australian dream of a big block of quarter acre land is dead (at least in Sydney). For anyone living within 10 km of the city, space is expensive and becoming more so, and as it does, so too does the value of space trading.

Statistics around inner city house prices          

Space per metre in Sydney comes at a premium. As of May 2014 Sydney already had 170 suburbs with a $1 million median house price, according to Australian Property Monitors. The number of Sydney suburbs with a median value in excess of $2 million has nearly doubled in the space of a year as property prices surge.

As with all marketplaces, trust and confidence in the users is key – aside from the usual vetting and review processes in place with all marketplaces, the space variation creates additional confidence as users are typically local constituents (your neighbours) with a site view prior to rental to give both parties a chance to suss out the other.

Types of Sharing Economy Marketplaces

AirBnB – Accommodation

CarNextDoor – Car Sharing

Uber – Ride Sharing

AirTasker – Skills & Services

FoodByUs – Food

Zoom2u – Courier Delivery

MadPaws – Pet Sitting

Spacer – Storage Sharing

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