TUCSON, ARIZONA, May 1, 2023 - The self storage industry may not be considered glamorous, but it is one whose growth and resilience are a response to people’s very practical needs for extra space. Storage Cafe is reporting, recent trends like the adoption of hybrid work and apartment sizes getting smaller, as well as migration patterns from urban to suburban areas, have created new demands for storage units. And developers are responding. Nationally, close to 53M square feet of storage space is planned to be delivered in 2023.
As one of the hottest relocation destinations in the country, Arizona also has a very active self storage market. In 2022, approximately 452K square feet of storage space came online in Phoenix, with an additional 289K rentable square feet expected to hit the market in 2023.
We wanted to identify where this development enthusiasm is coming from, so we conducted a survey among 18,000 US respondents. We’ve investigated some key market drivers, including reasons for using self storage, the items most commonly stored, the most popular types of units, which cities see most interest in self storage, and other related aspects.
Here are some interesting highlights about Arizona’s major cities:
- Not only did the major AZ cities return to pre-pandemic interest in self storage but they also saw the service’s popularity grow, with Gilbert, Mesa and Phoenix in the lead.
- Interest in self storage skyrocketed in Phoenix both during the pandemic and in its aftermath. In fact, it jumped 236% from 2019 to 2022 based on online searches. Essentially, the service reaffirms its value, as hybrid work is becoming mainstream and adds to traditional sources of demand that revolve around ‘the 4Ds.’
- Self storage rent rates in Phoenix are slightly below the national average, with a standard non-climate-controlled unit costing roughly $124 per month.
- Tucson also saw an uptick in interest, albeit much more modest than in other Arizonan hotspots. The city saw a 15% increase in searches over the same period. The average local rent on a standard non-climate-controlled unit sits at $116/mo.
More than a fifth of Americans currently rent self storage, with an additional 15% planning to do so in the future. Much of the new clientele that discovered the usefulness of the service and amplified demand during the pandemic have continued to rely on self storage in its aftermath. The increase in employment flexibility – with many people now working from home or from co-working spaces – have acted as additional pressure points for home spaces, adding to the traditional storage needs that revolve around the 4 Ds.
A significant increase in RV travel has supported a rise in vehicle and RV storage, and there has been plenty of need to store professional equipment and merchandise as many businesses went online.
Moreover, 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.
StorageCafe is a nationwide self-storage search website and a part of Yardi. The site currently features more than 25,000 storage facilities listings, all verified and up to date.