This report will compare the storage rates for the December 2020 holiday season to the December 2021 holiday season. The purpose of the report is to examine the impact of storage rates during the tragically deadliest month of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, compared to a year later. The coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact on a variety of businesses, including self-storage. Many companies closed their doors in December 2020, and individuals were unable to travel as freely as they would have liked, forcing them to miss out on precious time with loved ones.
As of 14th December 2021, the major cities in the top 5 Markets via Radius+ Insider were found to be Dallas, Houston, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago (Figure 1). The study area will be within a 10-mile radius from the center point of each city allowing for a true and equal comparison of the data from all 5 cities. This report will be focusing on the prices of All Units and Climate Controlled Units of the traditional unit sizes - 5x5, 5x10, 5x15, 10x10, 10x15, 10x20.
(Figure 1)
As you can see by Figure 2 below, the Trade Area represents a total of 151 facilities within the 10-mile radius of the center point of the city. A total of 4 facilities are in the pipeline as well.
(Figure 2)
The pricing export which is available for Radius+ Enterprise Users displays the monthly rates for each unit size. This feature allows for historical comparison and trend analysis. Figure 3 is an image of the pricing export and as you can see the month of December 2020 witnessed a below-average monthly rate whereas December 2021 saw an increase in the monthly rate for all units and climate controlled.
(Figure 3)
When looking at how rates changed in Dallas over the last year, we can see that from December 2020 to December 2021, all units had at least a 20% rise in cost, with the 5x5 and 5x10 surpassing the rest with 37% and 31.6% increases, respectively. The unit sizes which saw the smallest increase in rates were 5x15, which increased from December 2020 to December 2021 by 21%, following this was the 10x20 at just over 22%.
Figure 4 demonstrates the rates increase across all unit sizes. Notably, it can be seen that the 5x15 saw the smallest increase with the largest being 5x5. Within the chart, the average monthly rate shows that December's rates for 2020 were lower than the monthly average. Comparing this with December 2021 where all unit sizes were above the average rate.
(Figure 4)
In relation to solely climate controlled units, the largest increase was once again the 5x5 units which saw an increase of nearly 39.5% and, the climate controlled 5x10 units had witnessed a rise of 35%. On the other hand, the smallest increases were seen with 10x20 units which increased by only 7%. The next smallest gain was slightly larger at 18% with the 5x15 units.
The chart below (Figure 5), displays the direct comparison of December 2021 and December 2020 including the average monthly rate. It can be seen that there is a greater variety of increases across different unit sizes compared to Figure 4 which displays all unit sizes. Once again, the chart portrays the fact that December 2020 rates were below the average monthly rate.
(Figure 5)
Overall, the Dallas area witnessed a total increase in rates across all unit sizes and all units including climate controlled, for this holiday period (December 2021) compared to last year.
Figure 6 displays the 10-mile radius which this report examines. The overall facility count within the 10-mile radius for Houston is 152, with another 16 in the pipeline.
(Figure 6)
The findings of Houston's pricing export (Figure 7) are similar to those of Dallas. December 2020 rates for all units were marginally lower than the average monthly rate. This is the same for the climate controlled units which were once again lower than the average monthly rate. Compared with Houston's December 2021 rates, all units and climate controlled units were considerably higher than the monthly average.
(Figure 7)
When looking at how rates have altered in Houston over the last year, it can be seen that from December 2020 to December 2021, all units had at least a 15% rise in rates, with the 5x5 and 10x10 surpassing the rest with 22% and 18.8% increases, respectively. The 10x15 unit experienced the smallest rise of 15.1%, followed by the 10x20 unit at 15.2%.
The chart which is labeled 'Figure 8' presents the increase of rates across all units. The chart displays the average monthly rent, demonstrating that December 2021's rates were all considerably higher than the average month. It also displays that December 2020's was lower.
(Figure 8)
When it comes to climate-controlled units, the 5x5 unit size showed the most growth from December 2020 to December 2021, increasing by 22.5%. Following that, the 5x10 and 10x10 units both increased by 18.3%. The smallest rising prices were seen in 5x15, which grew by 12%, and 10x15, which increased by 13%.
Figure 9 illustrates a comparison of climate controlled units in December 2020 and December 2021 as well as indicating the average monthly rate. It is noticeable that December 2021's rates are greater than the average monthly rates and rates of December 2020.
(Figure 9)
The data portrays that there was an increase in rates in December 2021 compared to the previous year within the Houston area. This is likewise to the climate controlled units which all saw an increase in rates as well. Along with the fact that all units and climate controlled units were above the monthly average.
Figure 10 shows the 10-mile radius of the area in Los Angeles. The overall facility count within this area of Los Angeles is 148. The pipeline consists of another 19 facilities.
(Figure 10)
Los Angeles pricing export which can be seen in figure 11 below, indicates that December 2020 saw a lower than average monthly rate. Whereas, in December 2021 the rate was significantly higher than the average monthly rate. However, for the climate controlled units, in December 2020, the rates were more or less the same. Although fast forward a year and in December 2021, the rates were higher than the monthly average.
(Figure 11)
When we look at how rates changed in Los Angeles over the previous year, we can see that from December 2020 to December 2021, 5x15 units had the highest rent increase of 15.8%. This outperformed the other units, with the 5x10 unit gaining 12%. The 10x20 units, on the other hand, had a 3% decline in rent, with the 5x5 units seeing a 9% rise.
Figure 12 is a chart that shows the rate of increase for all units. The only exception is 10x20, which fell in price from the previous year in December 2021. Aside from the 10x20 units, it's also interesting to notice that rates in December 2020 were quite similar to the average monthly rent. The rates in December 2021, on the other hand, were significantly higher than the monthly average.
(Figure 12)
When it comes to climate-controlled units, the unit size that rose the most was 10x10, which climbed by 14.3% from December 2020 to December 2021. The 5x5 units, which increased by only 8%, saw the second greatest growth. Similarly, with all units, from December 2020 to December 2021, the 10x20 units had a 6% decrease.
Figure 13 shows the average monthly rate as well as a comparison of climate controlled units in December 2020 and December 2021. It is clear that the price of 10x20 fell in December 2021. It's also evident that virtually all units witnessed at least a 10% rise in December 2021 compared to the average monthly rent.
(Figure 13)
The findings show that prices in Los Angeles increased overall across all units and climate control, with the exception of 10x20, which had a price drop this holiday season (December 2021) compared to the previous year. Furthermore, all units including climate controlled units were above the monthly average in December 2021.
Figure 14 displays the 10-mile radius of Chicago which we undertook for this research. The overall facility count within this area of Chicago is 144. The pipeline for Chicago shows that another 8 facilities will accommodate this area.
(Figure 14)
Figure 15, below, is the pricing export for the 10-mile radius of Chicago. The export shows that December 2020 saw all unit rates lower than the average monthly rate, however, once again, December 2021 witnessed an increase in rates that were higher than the average monthly rate.
(Figure 15)
Looking at the rates, we can see that Chicago's rates increased on all units from December 2020 to December 2021. The largest increases were 5x5, at 25% and, 10x20 at 20%. The 5x15's saw the smallest increase at 9%.
Figure 16 illustrates the increase in rates from December 2020 to December 2021. All unit sizes have increased by at least 10% from the previous year, apart from 5x15 which increased by 9%. It can be found that the monthly average rent was higher than the December 2020 rates.
(Figure 16)
Concentrating on climate-controlled units, all rates increased from December 2020 to December 2021, with the 5x5 seeing the biggest rise of 24%, followed by the 10x20 at 16.8%. With a 9% increase from the previous year, the 5x15 units had the smallest price increase.
Figure 17 displays the comparison of rates in December 2020 to December 2021 in Chicago. December 2021 rates were above the monthly average, with substantial increases being 5x5 at 11.7% and 10x20 at nearly 8.9%.
(Figure 17)
Overall, within the Chicago 10-mile radius, the data shows an increase in rates across all units and climate controlled units from December 2020 to December 2021.
The New York 10-mile radius which we focused on had a facility count of 273, as can be seen in figure 18 below. 37 facilities are in the active pipeline for this area.
(Figure 18)
Figure 19, below, is the pricing export for the 10-mile radius of New York. The export shows that in December 2021 all units were similar to the average monthly rate, with only 5x5 and 10x20 having a noticeable increase compared to the average monthly rent.
(Figure 19)
From December 2020 to December 2021, the rates in New York did not change significantly, with just one unit increasing in price and the rest falling. The rise was in 5x5, which increased by only 2.5 %. The most significant drop in rates was 5x10, which decreased by 9%.
Figure 20 shows how close the rates were between December 2020 and December 2021. The graph depicts the fact that just one unit size rose from the previous year, but the others remained relatively similar. It's also worth noting that all units' monthly rates were quite close, with 5x5 6% above the monthly average.
(Figure 20)
The growth and reductions in climate-controlled units were quite similar to figure 19. 5x5 outperformed the others with a 4% increase; the next greatest gain was 1.5% for 10x15. The prices of the 5x10 and 5x15 both reduced by 6% and 3%, respectively.
Figure 21 is a chart showing the climate-controlled unit rates for December 2020 and December 2021, as well as a monthly average. From December 2020 to December 2021, the unit rates were very comparable, as shown in the chart. As can be seen, all units are pretty equal to the monthly average, with the 5x5 increasing by 7% on the monthly average in December 2021. 5x10 and 5x15, on the other hand, were 2% and 1% lower than the monthly average, respectively.
(Figure 21)
Overall, New York was very different compared to the other 4 cities in the top 5 market, with New York seeing more decreases of rates for all units and climate controlled units than the other 4 major cities from the previous year. However, it is also noticeable that the rates from the previous year to this year for New York were very similar with the largest increase from December 2020 at just 4% (climate controlled 5x5), and the greatest decrease being 9% (All units 5x10).
(Figure 22)
To conclude, our findings from this study show that the coronavirus pandemic had a significant impact on storage rates in December 2020. December 2020 was the deadliest month in the United States during the pandemic's peak, with millions of new infections occurring throughout the month. Comparing this with a year later, figure 22 shows that most cities in the top 5 markets had price trends climb for all units, with the exception of New York and Los Angeles, where the latter only witnessed a 3% dip in the 10x20. In particular, New York was greatly affected with more decreases in rates rather than rises when compared to other top markets. Except for the 5x5 prices, all units in New York fell in December 2021 compared to December 2020, with the 10x20 dropping the most at 9%. People relocating out of New York might be one explanation for the city's heavy impact as according to the BBC, New York moving companies had seen an increase in demand since the virus broke out. The city which witnessed the largest trend increase was Dallas, with all units increasing by at least 20% - and the 5x5 increasing by 37%. The report suggests that the 5x5 saw the strongest growth by rates increasing in all cities within the top 5 markets. It was a very similar case for the climate controlled units as well, with Los Angeles and New York witnessing price drops from the previous year. Notably, once again, Los Angeles had a decrease of 6% for 10x20 - the only drop the city saw. Whereas New York on the other hand had rates drop for 5x10, 5x15 and 10x20 decreases of 6%, 3%, and 2% respectively. Overall, the statistics indicate that the pandemic hit self-storage hard in December 2020, with rates rising the next year - with the exception of New York. The research emphasizes the self-storage industry's resiliency in the face of the pandemic that ravaged other businesses.
The findings were collected via the Radius+ platform, to find out more about Radius+ please visit www.radiusplus.com .
