Research Reports

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

Durham College Life: Here’s How to Keep your Dorm Room Neat and Organized in the Aftermath of COVID-19

2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, college students included. This spring, due to the COVID-19 crisis, virtually all college students had to pack up their stuff and leave campuses at a moment’s notice — a logistic nightmare for most.

Lockdown and post-lockdown hobbies Watching TV and running

Americans Want to Ditch Screens for Exercising and Gardening Post-Lockdown, Survey Says

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Businessman with back to camera facing the future

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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Laptop used for storage software

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.