Self-Storage Sector’s Inventory is 1.4B SF and Growing

AUSTIN, TX—Self storage has become a widespread choice for keeping homes and lives organized, whether during a move, downsizing, owning too much stuff or adjusting to changing household sizes. And in an effort to respond to the increasing need for extra space, more than 1.4 billion square feet of storage inventory had been built as of year-end 2019.

But who is driving this recent expansion of the self-storage sector? For clarity, the nationwide self-storage search platform StorageCafé conducted a survey of 1,700 US residents. The survey found Baby Boomers and Gen Xers are not only the biggest spenders but also represent 77% of the self-storage renter pool.

StorageCafé findings:

The bigger the house, the higher the chances of residents using self storage. Interestingly enough, the probability of self-storage rental grows with the number of bedrooms in a house. Specifically, 35% of those residing in three-plus bedroom homes are renting self storage while only 30% of studio dwellers are renting a self-storage unit.

More complex family situations make Gen Xers and Baby Boomers the most reliant on self storage. Gen Xers are busy raising families and caring for parents, which requires plenty of living space, and Baby Boomers are dealing with issues such as downsizing, multi-generational living or caring for grandchildren.

In addition, women are more inclined to rent self storage than men. The majority or 65% of the survey respondents who rent self storage are women, while 35% are men. The most common items stored were furniture, seasonal items and clothing.

Even with growing home sizes, people still don’t have enough room at home for all the stuff they accumulate. Moving is the most common reason people rent a self-storage unit, but lack of space at home is cited as the second-most popular cause.

According to StorageCafé, the cities with the highest self storage square footage are in Texas, with Austin, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio all offering more than 9 square feet per capita.

“Texas has been an enthusiastic builder of self-storage facilities in recent years, though just lately it has eased off somewhat,” Francis Chantree, StorageCafé analyst, tells GlobeSt.com. “Among the causes of the state’s high ratio of storage square footage per capita have been the availability of space to build on and the ease with which building permission can be obtained in some areas. Both the Dallas-Fort Worth–Arlington and the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan areas saw considerable construction of storage space during 2019, the former adding over 2 million square feet and the latter delivering over 1.5 million square feet, but these both represent pronounced decreases from the previous year’s figures. The oversaturation in some markets has been accompanied by drops in street rates on rental units, which helps keep both occupancy rates high and renters happy. However, the Lone Star State has a vigorous economy and experts are not especially concerned about the future profitability of the storage industry here.”