Florida Self Storage Business Emptying Out

Floridians Walking Away From Homes & Self-Storage Units

You would think with all of the foreclosures and home downsizing going on across the state that the self-storage business would be booming. It's not. "Storage by nature is temporary; people move things in for a couple of months, and it's not always because of a happy occasion," writes the Sun-Sentinel's Arlene Hatchell. Hatchell interviewed owners of several South Florida storage facilities who all reported revenues flat or down compared to last year. 10 years ago, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune declared "As more and more people move to Florida, the self-storage business is booming." And that strength continued through the housing boom in 2005 when Florida had the nation's third-largest self-storage network with 2,293 facilities. Now those days are over. Many Floridians are abandoning their storage units the same way they are walking away from their foreclosed properties. That trend is reflected in the growing number of on-site auctions of self storage unit contents. A St. Pete company dedicated to exactly that, Storage Protection Auction Services, reports a 20% increase in business statewide.