The self storage industry within the United States has experienced an upswing in recent years to the point where there are now approximately 46,000 self storage facilities across the nation with at least one primary facility in over 80 percent of the counties in the country. It now seems that the rest of the world is starting to see the benefits of self storage facilities as well.

It is not uncommon for the United States to be ahead of the curve in comparison to the rest of the world, and that is true with the self storage industry. There are approximately 5,000 self storage facilities outside of the United States. However, if growth continues like it has been in some countries that disparity may be erased in time.

According to news reports, the demand for self storage space in Moscow is increasing at steady rate of about 15 percent a month. One commercial real estate property developer, KR Properties, opened up a new facility called City Box in October 2010. As of June 2011, the entire facility has been rented out.

"In terms of liquidity and return on investment, these projects are significantly better than the big warehouses," said former KR Properties chief executive Sergei Kalinin.

Another company called Red Box is around 80 percent full, and has been doing well enough for the owners to already open a second facility. KR Properties is preparing to open a second and a third self storage facility; there are currently six different companies vying for tenants.

The market is primarily individuals looking for self storage space right now. Once small businesses start to see the benefit that self storage can have for them the demand is likely to increase rather dramtically.

In Singapore, the self storage industry has been growing rapidly as well. Singapore Extra Space Storage has undergone incredible growth since opening in 2007. When it opened, its value was placed at $4.8 million. During the 2010 fiscal year the value was close to 13 times that ($62 million).

When the company first started in Singapore, it consisted of one facility with a little over 268,000 square feet of storage space. Now it has five different facilities totaling over 600,000 square feet of space. An estimated 3,000 tenants a year discover the benefits that a self storage unit can hold.

Sources Used:

“Demand for Individual Storage Space Increasing 15% Monthly.” The Moscow Times; 14 June 2011.

“Self Storage Business Booming for Extra Space Storage in Singapore.” Self Storage Industry News; 08 June 2011.