Research Reports

Explore data-driven research on real estate, housing, self storage, moving trends and economic forces shaping today’s markets.

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MA, CA & WA Best-Placed to Combat COVID-19 With Their Digital Economies

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Self Storage Market Pushes Forward Amid Lowering Rents and COVID-19 Fears

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How to Find the Best Self Storage Property Management Software

The self storage industry has proven itself to be economically reliable over time. That said, storage is not entirely immune to declining rents when the economy hits hard times (as during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic), but it’s less vulnerable to disruption than other real estate industries. That’s one reason property management software is an excellent investment for property managers looking to be more profitable and efficient or even to grow their business.

Hobbies at home

Lockdown Hobbies That May Be Worth Exploring Even After the Pandemic Is Over

The last few weeks were pretty stressful, to say the least. The lockdown we went through was an unprecedented event, and most people were caught off guard as the rapid spread of the virus was hard to believe. All of a sudden, we found ourselves needing to look for ways to cope with this new reality and more attention was given to finding agreeable and constructive ways to spend time while being cooped up indoors.

Home Sales in Times of Pandemic: How COVID-19 Impacts Chicago’s Real Estate Market

Chicago’s home buying market is recoiling under the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Open houses, the bread and butter of realtors, are harder to host because of social distancing requirements. It’s true, however, that some people still need to find new homes, and there are now technical solutions to help with home tours – self-guided or virtual tours seem to catch on pretty quickly. Moreover, prices in Chicago are still holding strong, most probably due to low inventory levels. Let’s dive in and see how the market has changed due to the current pandemic and how realtors and clients are dealing with the new realities.

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Bigger, Greener Homes Enter San Francisco Housing Market as New Builds Become Harder to Find

San Francisco’s housing market is one of the most atypical in the country – expensive and very low-volume when it comes to new-built single family homes. The median value of an owner-occupied San Francisco housing unit is slightly over $1 million, while the median monthly mortgage is almost $3,500, according to the latest available data from the US Census Bureau.

Most Frequent Q&A for Self Storage Business

27 Most Common Self Storage Questions and Answers for Business Owners

Starting a business entails a long list of concerns you should take into account, from financing it to choosing its location, and from cost assessment to covering customer service, just to name a few. If you think you’re not sure where to begin, here at StorageCafe we have created a list of the most common questions and answers to help get you on the right track with your budding self storage business.

Charlotte, N.C.: An Affordability Haven for Americans on the Move

Feeling the call of the Carolinas? If so, set your sights on Charlotte, as the city has a lot going on! In order to truly see how the Queen City fares in terms of real estate, job opportunities, self storage and some other interesting facts that make it a unique attraction, we compared it to other cities that have similar populations.

How Self Storage Operators Can Help During Coronavirus Pandemic

The self storage industry is in a better spot than other sectors such as brick and mortar retail or tourism, which have been severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Online sales

Revenue From Online Sales of Home and Leisure Products Grew by 120% During the COVID-19 Lockdown

Sometimes it seems as if the world ground to a standstill during the past eight weeks or so. People stayed at home, hoping to stop the spread of the coronavirus – but that doesn’t mean they also stopped buying stuff. On the contrary, online sales of certain products, including home appliances, sports equipment and other items, saw huge increases.

COVID-19 impact on hospitality retail moving housing and self storage

The Coronavirus Effect: Hospitality, Retail Take Hard Hits While Moving and Self Storage See Less Immediate Impact

The coronavirus outbreak has been a massive disruptor to the lives of Americans, with repercussions we fail to grasp yet. As the current crisis impacts the worldwide economy, it is the often far-reaching chains of supply sustaining many industries that have been hurt the most. As personal and business travel has come almost to a halt, the food, manufacturing, retail, hospitality and airline industries have felt disruptions associated with the spread of COVID-19. With social distancing in place, the restaurant and tourism industries in particular will feel the impact of reduced business.

Oklahoma City Skyline

How Oklahoma City Storage Operators Are Helping College Students During the Coronavirus Pandemic

We’ve only been dealing with the coronavirus crisis a few weeks, but it already feels like months – or even longer. Things are changing at a rapid pace, and we all need to keep up with the new realities, including closed schools and universities, working from home, distancing from other people and spending most of our time confined between walls.