RENTERS CAN FIND ADDITIONAL SUPPORT IN SELF-STORAGE AS WFH TREND IS HERE TO STAY About 29 percent of Americans are working from home in 2021, per US Census Household Pulse data. This shift rippled across their living arrangements. Renters that could access a business center within their residential building were able to find a dedicated workspace out - side their homes. However, in the absence of a community business center, many multifamily renters had to find the space for a home office inside their apartments. Making these functional chang- es to the home meant that some domestic items had to be displaced. But help came from a sector that usually plays its part behind the scenes, namely self-storage. Owners and operators of self-storage facili- ties created a solution where poten- tial customers found it easy and safe to store their extra stuff, even amid pandemic challenges.
ACTIVE MARKETS ALLOW REMOTE WORKERS TO MAKE MORE ROOM AT HOME FOR OFFICES From a location point of view, some renters are more favored than others. Storagecafe also has data on self-storage supply across the nation and some cities appear much more prepared than others to address this rising need for storage space away from home. Looking at the top 10 cities for remote workers, Houston is one of the metros best prepared to respond to a need for extra space. With over 9.4 square feet of self-storage space per person, Houston is expected to deliver more than 900,000 square feet of additional storage space to its already robust inventory in 2021. The metros where the WFH popu - lation is strong, but the self-storage market is undersupplied are making strides to make up for the low inven- tory as compared to demand. In fact, metro areas that boast the highest rates of teleworking are also places where self-storage construction is
ers with an opportunity to work from home within a residential business center in 61.5 percent of apartment buildings. Given that North Caroli- na is yet another state that boasts a large share of tech workers, demand for business centers within apart- ment buildings is high. Naturally, the local rental market responded to this demand appropriately. At the other end of the spectrum, Buffalo comes last for the number of multifamily complexes (7 percent) that offer their renters access to a common business lounge where they can work without leaving their residential building. In the past 10 years, Buffalo registered low apart- ment construction levels, with about 2,100 units delivered. Apartments delivered during this time repre- sent 17 percent of 2010’s invento - ry. As for 2021, Buffalo boasts the third-largest construction projection among New York’s largest cities, but co-working spaces are less likely to be a common amenity, given the low demand for this feature.
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