SpareFoot estimates the self-storage industry was worth approximately $32.7 billion in 2016, and it will likely grow by roughly 3.5 percent each year over the next five years.
SpareFoot Web Editor Alexander Harris estimates the burst of self-storage facility builds started after the downturn in the nation’s economy.
“In Texas, like a lot of the country, the self-storage people stopped building during the economic collapse,” he said. “Since probably 2014 things really started to pick up. Right now it is at record levels across the country.”
Harris said the primary reason there is such a concentration of storage units in Central Texas is because more and more people are moving to the area.
“You have record numbers of people moving to the Austin area,” he said. As a result, storage unit owners are doing what they can to add additional features to attract more customers than competitors.
Area real estate developer Brentley Brinegar said with 165 people moving to the Austin-area each day, everyone wants to be the first to take advantage of the storage need.
Priscilla Dougherty, manager of 365 Self Storage in Round Rock, said owners chose the location to be close to Teravista, which has booming growth.
She said 365 Self Storage’s owners chose to build a climate-controlled facility to set it apart from competitors.
Dougherty said the majority of users are people selling homes, or buying new homes. She said a large portion of the customer base is individuals looking for a four- to six-month contract.
As Round Rock, Pflugerville and Hutto continue to grow, Mark Sprague, a real estate and financial industry analyst with Independence Title Co., said he believes the trend will persist.
“I think self-storage will continue,” he said. “Self-storage for equity is a great way to park money and get an income. Then, when that property becomes worth more, build an office building or whatever it may be.”
Brinegar said developers must be careful to not over build, however.
“There are folks that have said there is a need to watch, because there is so much square footage being built,” he said. “It is certainly a concern for the developers and even the operators, because they don’t like having low occupancies.”
