09 Oct 2019
This article originally appeared on Sparefoot.com
You need a temporary place to stash your stuff. You don’t have enough room for some things in your own home, or maybe you need some extra space for your business inventory.
Whatever your reason for needing a self storage unit, you definitely want to make sure you are paying a fair price. Storage unit prices can vary widely, even within the same market. There are many factors that contribute to the prices offered by any given storage location.
The good news is for the first time in several years, the cost to rent self storage unit is actually going down.
The average monthly cost to rent a self storage unit is $88.85. That is a 2.5 percent decrease from the average price in 2017. The average includes all reservations for all storage sizes and types made on our network last year.
The average price per square foot is also dropping. In 2018, the average price per square foot was $0.96, compared to $1.01 per square foot in the previous year.
A major factor in falling prices has been a surge of new storage construction across the country. As the supply of storage units rises to meet demand, prices in many markets are on a downward trend. In other words, storage operators are lowering prices because there is more competition now than there has been in recent years.
The table below shows the average cost for the five most popular storage sizes. As you can see prices fell across the board for all unit types:
| Unit Size | Average monthly cost (2018) | $/sq.ft. | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5x10 | $64.91 | $1.25 | -2.5% |
| 10x10 | $97.59 | $0.98 | -2.3% |
| 5x5 | $47.01 | $1.88 | -2.6% |
| 10x20 | $138.06 | $0.68 | -2% |
| 10x15 | $126.07 | $0.84 | -6.5% |
Recently there has been a new storage concept available in some cities called full service storage. Also known as on-demand or valet storage, these new providers advertise that they offer a more convenient option than traditional mini storage. Full service storage companies will pickup your items from your home and place them in a shared warehouse with other customers’ stuff. When you are ready to receive your items, the company will deliver them to your home.
These companies try to price their services to be comparable to the cost of traditional storage. However, there is sometimes a delivery fee and a minimum commitment required.
Popular traditional storage companies include Public Storage, U-Haul, CubeSmart, Life Storage and Extra Space. However the majority of self-storage facilities are operated by small and medium sized operators.
