Storage rooms have always been the ugly duckling of the real estate market. Until they expanded "mini flats"

Spain is emptied. And there is the overcrowded spain, which due to availability and real estate market prices has no choice but to live in tiny apartments in which fitting furniture, clothes and other belongings becomes a challenge suitable only for Tetris masters. Among the latter there is an increasingly coveted object of desire: storage rooms. Families demand them. And companies demand them. Their rise is not new – we have already talked about their “boom” on other occasions – but the market gives clear signs that they are increasingly in demand and the companies that exploit them are expanding throughout the country.

It is the other effect of the increase in micro apartments.

Who has a storage room… It has quite a treasure. The “boom” that the demand for storage rooms has experienced in the cities of Spain is not new; But – in the absence of more precise and updated studies – it is necessary to take a look at the regional newspapers to find news that shows to what extent they are required today. There are localities in which they start to become scarce and others in which, encouraged by high demand, businesses dedicated to renting storage spaces are opening. Sometimes driven by great chains.

In Castellón they were talking a few days ago about their “proliferation”in Vigo that the offer is “at minimum”with barely twenty ads in Idealista, and in Barcelona and Madrid of the “boom” of your rent. Similar news or news about the increase in supply can be found at Estremadura, Sherry, several points of Galicia, Victoria either Caceres. The details vary, but the picture is always the same: a demand that is straining the market and encouraging new rentals.

Facts to reflect on. There are more indicators. The latest annual report of the Federation of European SelfStorage Associations (Fedessa) reveals that, with a market share of around 10.4%, Spain is the fourth country in Europe in terms of self-storage spaces. Only the United Kingdom is ahead, with a share of 32.9%, France (13.4%) and Germany (10.9%).

It’s more, the federation speaks a growth of 68% in the number of centers in a matter of five years and 18% if what we are talking about is surface area. A study of Savills showed in 2023 that the market of self-storage It already exceeds one million square meters in Spain, with a marked weight from Madrid and Barcelona.

Looking at homes. Although the spaces of self-storage they sue them too companies and self-employed, to understand its rise we must first understand the changes in our own homes. At the end of the day, the increase in demand and business openings self-storage coincides with another trend: the boom” of small apartments, less than 30 m2, which makes it difficult for families to have space in which to store their furniture, clothes and other belongings. The INE data show that they have skyrocketed in Spain. And in a matter of a few years.

He Population and Housing Census of the INE reflects that in 2021 there were in Spain 167,134 homes main family members of less than 30 m2 and almost 1.02 million between 30 and 45 m2. The same survey from 2011 yields results quite inferior: 50,438 and 535,426, respectively, although in the latter case the INE specifies that it refers to “usable surface area.” There is another way to put it: in just a decade, between 2011 and 2021, the weight of apartments of less than 30 m2 in the total number of main homes increased to represent almost one in ten.

Question of demand… and premises. The demand and Good prospects of business They are not the only key to understanding the rise of storage rooms. There would be another factor. With the particular offer in low levelscompanies dedicated to renting them have found themselves with a greater incentive: the high availability of empty ground floors and warehouses that are now refocusing on a business that, according to Fedessaleaves an average net annual rent per m2 of 275.56 euros.

Recently Viva Jerez explained that in the Andalusian town between 2,500 and 3,000 places had been created in disused warehouses and commercial premises. And yours it’s not a unique case. The sector also has room to make itself known.

To store, and more things. The rise of storage rooms is largely explained by the drift of the real estate market and the escalation of its prices. And it is that same factor that is behind other much less orthodox uses: there are those who are using them as bedrooms. Chain COPE warned in March that, due to the lack of affordable housing, in A Coruña there were people who were beginning to spend the night in storage rooms. And again, does not about of a unique case. Just three months ago the Balearic Government imposed a fine of two million of euros to a company that managed the rentals of 68 storage rooms and rooms as homes.

Images | Bluespace and Joshua Coleman (Unsplash)

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