The Wall Street Journal termed the self-storage industry as “recession-resistant,” and truer words could not have been spoken. This industry has been the fastest growing one in the real estate industry in the last 40 years.pand The estimated global self-storage market is valued at USD 40.02 billion and is expected to be USD 64.71 billion by 2026.
The self-storage companies in USA generated over $24 billion in 2013. The demand for self-storage has been on the rise due to the large number of people moving in. In general, though, the growth of this industry seems to be very positive. This is due to the growing trends of urbanization and improved economies in many places.
Top self-storage companies provide many advantages. People have begun to realize these advantages and are beginning to rent more storage spaces. As a result, the industry has really boomed. As the standards of living keep changing, it is expected that the industry will grow bigger than ever.
Reasons Why Self-Storage Industry Is on the Rise
Six of the reasons why the industry has been booming recently are:
1. Covid-19 After Effects
The pandemic caused offices to shift to work-from-home. As a result, the demand for self-storage increased due to businesses looking to cut costs on office rentals. This also resulted in offices wanting to permanently shift to work-from-home, which increased the demand for storage spaces. In the residential sphere, 10.6% of all homes rent self-storage spaces. When the economy is doing well, people love to collect goods and therefore need more storage space. When the economy is doing bad, people wish to downsize and therefore need storage space. In general, whether for good or bad, people need extra storage.
2. Additional Storage Space
The pandemic had us regular people stuck at home. The most obvious and reasonable thing for us to do was to do a lot of online shopping. The increase in online shopping resulted in people’s homes being filled with many things. Aside from the excess buying, people also own seasonal objects or objects that only get used on certain occasions. These things take up unnecessary space in their houses. The self-storage industry provides you with that additional space to store all your extra goods. It also provides you with the flexibility to live your life however you need to.
3. Encouraging Investment
Due to the stability that the self-storage industry provides, it has become safe to make investments. Regardless of the inflations and drops in the economy, the industry does not suffer. Rather, it continues to do well and grows in both level and diversity. At first, investments were only made by high-net-worth individuals and REITs. However, now large equity firms are also beginning to make investments. Since the self-storage industry provides steady growth and a good return on investment, it is considered a very stable and worthwhile investment.
4. Generational Shifts
The self-storage industry is also growing, because of the various shifts taking place between the generations. The Baby Boomers are now retiring and settling down. This means that they will have to live their lives on limited incomes as they battle the increased costs of living. Most of them will choose to downsize, and this results in an increased demand for storage space.
In the Millennial and Gen Z spheres, the rapid shift to urban centers increases the demand as well. The urban centers provide them with very expensive but small living spaces. They will require more space to store their things and will often opt for self-storage spaces.
5. Unemployment Migration
Due to the poor economic times, the world is going through an unemployment crisis. At this point, people are willing to take on any jobs, including jobs that require lots of traveling or relocating. It is a given that doing so would require you to have minimal things. It becomes difficult to move around when you have many things to carry constantly. Self-storage allows you to store your things in one place and access them whenever needed.
6. Security
The storage facilities rented or used provide very good security. A storage facility is a lot more secure than your home. This is because they have security guards that stand guard 24/7. They are also very adaptable to the kinds of products you choose to store due to the developments in technology. They can be climate-controlled to ensure that any precious items are well preserved and no damage is caused to the
Final Comments
As the times continue to change and as lifestyles continue to evolve, there is no doubt that the self-storage industry will continue to experience growth. Due to increased urbanization and higher living costs, more people will begin to rent storage spaces for themselves. It is also considered a great investment as it is a very stable industry. Regardless of the circumstances the world faces, this industry will only continue to thrive and grow.
