On a recent sun-drenched spring afternoon, Daniel Mishin is strolling through the townhouse in Manhattan’s West Village where he lives, works, and, if time allows, plays. It could bring on a serious case of Manhattan real estate envy—lofty ceilings, wooden staircases, gleaming appliances, capped off with a roof deck and a back porch. Trees line the street, where the Waverly Inn peeks through from the view on the stoop.
Most enviable is the price: Residents here can pay as little as $1,900 a month per private room, up to 40 percent below the area average for a shared apartment—but the price includes cleaning services, security deposit, internet, utilities, and even some toiletries (among them a very lovely hand soap). “Adult dorms? We don’t play that game,” says Mishin, who is…