As Apartment Size Shrinks, Storage-Unit Demand Grows

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As apartment size shrinks in newly built apartment communities, renters are seeing a higher demand now for storage-unit space

As apartment size shrinks in newly built apartment communities, renters are seeing a higher demand now for storage-unit space, according to a survey by StorageCafe.

“As new apartment units are mostly built in large-scale communities, living space is dwindling, making many people seek storage solutions away from home. In fact, our survey shows that self-storage is now particularly popular among renters,” the survey says.

“We asked approximately 18,000 people why they use self-storage, what they keep there, what types of unit they use, and more.”

As apartment size shrinks in newly built apartment communities, renters are seeing a higher demand now for storage-unit space

Key takeaways from storage unit study:

  • More than a fifth (21 percent) of Americans currently use self-storage, with another 15 percent saying they intend to do so in the future.
  • Furniture is the item most commonly put in a self-storage unit.
  • Not having enough space at home is now the main reason for using self-storage, reported by 40 percent of current storage users. That overtook moving, reported by 34 percent.
  • Larger households have more need for self-storage — 27 percent of those with five or more members currently turn to storage away from home.
  • People between ages 40 and 55 — mostly the Gen Xers — are in the age group most likely to be renting self-storage right now.
  • New York, Chicago, and Houston were the U.S. cities that showed the greatest interest in self-storage in 2022.
  • Las Vegas, Nev., is the city that gets the most searches for all types of vehicle-storage units.

Conclusion

The report says, “the keenest self-storage renters are Gen Xers living in averaged-sized residences, perhaps with large households, and more commonly renting than owning their homes — they appear to be rather keen on putting sports gear in storage, too.

“These days, in a shift from previous patterns, people are more likely to rent storage to take the strain off their living space than because they are moving home. Self-storage is searched for more than ever across the nation’s largest cities — particularly in the Southwest — and its costs are always much more reasonable than residential space, enabling residents in all types of accommodation to maximize their lifestyles,” the Storage Café report says.

As apartment size shrinks in newly built apartment communities, renters are seeing a higher demand now for storage-unit space

Read the full report here.

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