---
title: Storage units saw unprecedented business due to the pandemic
description: As people and businesses rushed to stash their goods, self-storage companies saw big business amid the pandemic.
---

[Hustle News ](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news)

# [Storage units saw unprecedented business due to the pandemic](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/12-26-21-storage-unit-boom)

 Written by [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) | Dec 27, 2021 7:38:38 AM

Self-storage has boomed since the onset of the pandemic, resulting in higher rent, less empty space, and rising stocks, [per](https://www.wsj.com/articles/self-storage-is-the-pandemics-hot-property-11640132345?mod=lead_feature_below_a_pos1) *The Wall Street Journal*.

The industry’s 4 largest companies — Public Storage, Extra Space Storage, Life Storage and CubeSmart — have reached 95%+ occupancy. The average monthly rent hit $155.65 in November — the highest in 5 years.

Meanwhile, Extra Space Storage’s shares are 2x more valuable than they were pre-pandemic.

#### **What’s causing this?**

Several things, including:

- People who want extra space for home offices, gyms, etc.
- Remote workers who moved
- Businesses with extra inventory
- Businesses that ditched offices to save on rent

In addition to 5 public companies, there are also 30k+ storage owners operating ~55k facilities in the US, [per](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/21/business/self-storage-roars-back.html) *The New York Times*.

The business is appealing due to its low overhead and tenants who often stay put, even when rent increases by 10%.

#### **And when tenants don’t pay, their units’ contents are auctioned off**

While bidders typically don’t know what exactly is in a unit, flipping units can be a decent [side hustle](https://www.sidehustlenation.com/storage-unit-auctions/) — hence the premise of the “Storage Wars” franchise.

Some of the weirdest buyer finds include:

- [A 1976 Lotus Esprit](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/01/couple-paid-100-for-car-elon-musk-bought-it-from-them-for-6-figures.html) used in the Bond film “The Spy Who Loved Me.” The unit was purchased for $100 in 1989. Elon Musk later bought the car for ~$1m.
- [The 1st Superman comic](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/nicolas-cage-superman-comic-record-2-million-sale-267770/), which someone stole from Nicolas Cage in 2000.
- A [mummified leg](https://www.npr.org/2015/09/26/443189817/the-deeper-meanings-of-a-leg-lost-and-found-and-fought-over), which turned into a legal drama between the leg’s original owner and the buyer who wanted to keep it. Yes, there is [a documentary](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvR3lE6p1nI) about this.

Sure, why not?

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/12-26-21-storage-unit-boom)

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