Place North West, a publication for U.K. property professionals, has reported that the economic downturn has benefited the public storage sector in the United Kingdom, as residents find the need for outside storage spaces while they move to smaller apartments. The United States has also been seeing a continuing rise in the self-storage business largely for the same reason. In fact, self-storage has been considered the fastest growing market in the US commercial real estate industry over the past 35 years.
In Manhattan, as well as in most parts of New York City, the local government encourages the creation of smaller living spaces in response to the reality that many of the area’s residents are single persons who live alone or in pairs. The move to renting smaller apartments has made public Manhattan storage units highly sought-after since they make it possible to store belongings that cannot be accommodated in downsized living spaces. As part of a growing national industry, reliable self-storage providers in the city have developed various service features to meet the various needs and demands of their customers.
The Place North West report also states that premium office spaces in the Manchester, UK area have shrunk in size as well, an event that mirrors what has been happening in New York City since the middle of the last decade. Commercial tenants in New York have been renting smaller working spaces and have resorted to making office use more efficient to compensate for the decrease in floor area. In addition to the rising cost of commercial space rentals, advances in telecommunication technology have also reduced the need for physically large office spaces.
Throughout the United States, the trend for both unmarried individuals and families has been to rent apartments rather than buy homes. This has, again, increased self-storage needs all around the country. In response to the various storage requirements of individuals and businesses, reputable self-storage providers such as Gibraltar Storage offer facilities and services that cater to different segments of the market.
Customers can choose from lockers or cabinets to full-sized rooms, and may store anything from books to bulky furniture. Security is paramount in the self-storage business, which is why reliable providers have round-the-clock, state-of-the-art security systems installed in their premises. Some of these providers even offer to help customers with their moving and packing needs.
While residential real estate businesses in the US and the UK are seen to constantly fluctuate, the self-storage sector continues to flourish at a steady rate. Lifestyle and workplace changes, which are often driven by economic factors, demand new solutions to people’s changing needs in relation to living and working spaces. Self-storage providers thus constantly update their services to meet their customers’ changing needs and sustain growth in the industry.