State of the Industry

Exploring the current state and future outlook for self storage across Australasia.

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State of the Industry is the leading research report for the self storage sector, combining property, operating and people insights to explore the potential for self storage across Australasia.

The 2022 edition emerges from a post-pandemic world, showcasing the resilience and record growth of the sector in these remarkable times.

Changes in lifestyle, living spaces and severe weather events are driving record demand for self storage.

The way people are using self storage is changing, with business usage on the rise reflecting the growth in online retail and supply chain challenges.

Market conditions have enabled strong growth, with increases in both average occupancy and average storage fee rates delivering record performance in self storage and outperforming traditional asset classes.

the average facility occupancy by area

the average storage fee rate $ per sqm per annum

The industry continues to mature, attracting global interest, new investment and significant levels of new supply with more than 90 new facilities in the pipeline.

After a transformational 2021 where more than $1.3 billion in self storage assets transacted, 2022 offers more stability with activity slowing and capitalisation rates stabilising in the rising interest rate environment. Macroeconomic conditions will continue to shape the sector and growth is expected to normalise in the near term.

Strong fundamentals underpin the return to stabilised growth

State of the Industry 2022

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full report

Market Insights
Demand Drivers
Industry Insights
Operating Metrics
Management Measures
Consumer Insights
Innovation Spotlight
Future Insights

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SSAA Performance Indicators

The SSAA has developed a range of trackers and indicators that measure the strength and performance of the sector over time.

In addition to a range of standalone data points, State of the Industry 2022 comprises the SSAA Macro Influence Tracker, Valuation Drivers matrix and the SSAA Storage Industry Gauge.

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Overview

The Storage Industry Gauge measures the strength of the self storage market at a point in time.

The gauge monitors the performance of self storage across East Coast Australian cities, linking changes in revenue performance to various demand drivers. The condition of the economy and strength of demand drivers creates a self storage market score.

Download the full report to explore the 2023 outlook and learn more about the Industry Gauge.

Movement of People

The 2022 SSAA Storage Industry Gauge has been updated to consider the internal movement of people rather than Australia's population growth given the impacts of the pandemic.

The movement of people demand driver adopts the actual population growth rate within NSW, VIC and QLD.

Disruption

Storage demand is driven by change of life events. 'Disruption' is the term used to measure major events or sudden occurrences which have an impact on day to day life. Examples of events captured by 'disruption' include natural disasters, severe macroeconomic changes and 'black swan' events (including a pandemic).

The disruption demand driver adopts a score based on the level of market/economic disruption.

Discretionary Spend

Discretionary spend has been high but downward pressures are fast emerging.

The discretionary spend demand driver adopts the change in discretionary spend index.

Residential Sale Turnover Volume

Housing supply is considered to be an economic crisis in many regions. The lack of housing availability (both to rent and to buy), together with the rental affordability crisis has contributed to further demand for self storage.

The residential sales demand driver adopts the annual change in housing turnover/sales.

New Apartments

Australia's apartment approvals are recovering but remain significantly below the peaks experienced in the years following the Global Financial Crisis. Similarly, there is a downward trend in the number of apartments being approved in New Zealand, since the peak of 2019.

The new apartments demand driver adopts the annual change in apartment completions.

New Storage Supply

The rate of supply continues to rise, with forecasts showing significant new supply volumes. There is a significant new supply forecast for the sector which is reflected in the capital city supply rates.

The self storage supply demand driver adopts the annual new supply rate as a percentage of existing stock.

As the voice of industry, the SSAA believes it is important to measure and map the continued success of our sector. We are guided by our strong commitment to serving our 850+ members and supporting 2000+ self storage facilities across Australasia.

State of the Industry Partners

The ongoing support of industry makes this significant research program possible.

Principal Industry Partner