Storage Becoming as Hot as Real Estate in NYC

New York, NY – January 8, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — If you choose to live in America’s most populated city, you have to be ready to fight for space. Apartments and homes rent at a premium, with NYC residents paying an average of $3,344 per month simply to stay in the city. If you’re a real estate agent or broker in the Big Apple, you’re probably familiar with the cutthroat world of apartment hunting, where residents often start looking far in advance of their move date and arrive at every unit viewing with documents in hand, ready to write a check on the spot.

However, there’s one other hot commodity related to apartment-hunting in NYC: finding appropriate storage. NYC apartments and homes often include fewer square feet of space than their suburban equivalents, meaning that new transplants to the city have to find somewhere to store their extra belongings. Other people use storage as a way to cycle between seasonal clothing and gear. Even long-term NYC residents often find themselves turning to storage when their accumulated possessions begin to outpace their living space.

Storage space is, like everything else in the city, hard to come by. In 2012, the Wall Street Journal reported that storage units in New York City were at 90% capacity, even when storage companies regularly raised their rates. This is, after all, a city where two or more roommates regularly share a studio apartment, and some units come without closet space.

In 2013, the situation got even more competitive. As the New York Times reported: “The shortage of storage is most acute in Manhattan, which is a Catch-22, they add, because few need extra space more than those who live on this densely settled island, where apartments are often skimpy on closets.” Areas like the Bronx and Queens are equally densely populated, with similar demands for storage.

What does this mean for real estate agents working in NYC? For starters, there is an opportunity to sell new residents on smaller units by talking to them about the possibility of storage. The Bronx is the third most densely populated area in NYC’s five boroughs; selling new residents on the storage Bronx offers is as simple as explaining that if you’re new to NYC, you are likely to need a good way to protect your belongings. After all, burglaries are common in all of New York’s five boroughs, as are other potential threats, such as leaky roofs and plumbing accidents.

Explain that storage units are climate-controlled and that they come with 24-hour security. Some storage companies even offer amenities like courier service, to deliver stored items directly to a tenant’s home. Other units let tenants visit the storage facility at any time of day or night to retrieve or store items. The key to selling your clients on storage is to help them understand that using storage is not an “extra;” it’s a natural — and essential — part of living in such a crowded city.

There is also an opportunity to add value by working directly with a storage company. With storage units often at as high of a premium as apartment units, and with available units sometimes few and far between, try keeping in touch with storage units to know when they have space available. That way, you can tell potential tenants which storage companies they need to call right away, in order to secure their spot. Even something as simple as visiting a storage unit so you can accurately describe its conditions and report positively on its staff adds that extra touch that helps you build rapport with your own rental clients.

There is one other opportunity for savvy real estate agents working in NYC: the Wall Street Journal article cited above noted that there is still room for agents to work with storage companies to develop new units outside of the city. If you are working in corporate real estate and are looking for an under-served market, consider scouting locations that might be useful for a storage company hoping to grow. Chances are, the units will be snapped up as soon as they are built.

Staying on top of the fast-paced, highly competitive New York City real estate market is hard, whether you are a real estate agent looking for clients or a potential tenant hoping to find living space. Talking to your clients about storage options helps establish your value and sets you apart from your competitors; helping tenants find storage when they need it continues to demonstrate your high level of service. NYC apartments aren’t likely to get any bigger, and storage units aren’t likely to get any less crowded, so it is your job to keep track of what is available, what your clients need, and how to match the right people to the right units.