Poor housing affordability and "mega" commutes have seen the launch of Australia’s first Monday to Friday property listing site WeekDay Space, catering to professional lodgers who rent in the city during the week and go home on weekends.
A popular concept in London for over a decade WeekDay Space Founders Rani Cohen and Jessica Lai believe Sydney presents a "perfect storm" for reinventing traditional flat sharing from 7 days a week to 5.
A recent report* into Sydney housing affordability concluded typical households face the choice between living a considerable distance from the city or living in a one-bedroom apartment.
"With the cost of living so high, we have seen the rise of the mega commuter, people who have jobs in the city but commute long distances to live elsewhere,
Monday to Friday lodging in cities like London and now Sydney allows people to live near work during the week and head home to more affordable or desirable climes on the weekend, like a modern pied-a-terre without the price tag", Ms Cohen said.
According to recent study** 1 in 5 adults in Australia earn extra income via the Share Economy and the WeekDay Space Founders believe having a Monday to Friday boarder comes with many benefits.
"Monday to Friday landlords gain a stream of weekly income, a professional lodger who has no need for a van load of possessions and the great bonus of weekends to themselves," Ms Lai said.
The newly launched website which private landlords can use to list spare rooms or car spaces to rent Monday to Friday, is already experiencing interest in a range of areas including Newtown, Surry Hills, Haberfield, Waterloo and Wollongong.
"We are pleased to see strong interest in the concept and we look forward to seeing it become the norm that it is in the UK," Ms Lai said.
To celebrate the launch the website, which uses a pair of characters called "Harry and Sally" in their marketing, they are searching nationally for Australia’s ultimate Harry, with the "Search for Australia’s Longest Commute" competition.
"It’s a fun competition but a serious topic in that people are commuting very long distances to work, with job concentration being so predominant in the cities," Ms Cohen said.
"We hope that WeekDay Space will be an avenue for helping some of these people to escape these long commutes and maybe make some great connections in the process," she said.
*Source: The Affordable Housing Income Gap Report – Compass Housing
**Source: finder.com.au survey of 2,010 Australians ---
WeekDay Space is Australia’s first Monday to Friday property listing site connecting professional weekday lodgers who need space with landlords who have a spare room or car space. Now launching in Sydney the website plans to expand nationally and will offer a matching service for WeekDay landlords and lodgers.
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