This Christmas, instead of traditional “Consumption”, why not have a think about sharing (and maybe even save money or make some extra cash in the process).

Australians, with their ingrained sense of mateship  have always been pretty good at sharing, but the internet is now making it much easier to share. Advances in technology mean trading, sharing, swapping and recycling is on the increase online and it is primarily the Gen Y’s and Millenniums driving this. Baby boomers are also increasingly seeing the environmental and financial benefits of sharing things as retirement looms.

It is estimated every year Aussies buy $10 billion worth or items they will never use. Those items waste money, take up space and destroy the environment.

‘Hyper-consumption’ is what has been driving world economies but the bubble is bursting. People are starting to review their values, and are ‘smarting up’ to the  unsustainable parts of modern life – enter ‘Collaborative Consumption’.

Collaborative Consumption is a term that we will be hearing a lot more about. There are a growing number of online services that allow Collaborative Consumption to thrive and for some amazing examples of how we can save money, space, the environment, and even make some cash on the side, take a look at :

• Freecycle – a worldwide  movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns.
• 99 Dressses – an infinite wardrobe of fashion
• Zopa – Where people meet to lend or borrow money
• Etsy – Buy and Sell handmade Products
• SpaceOut – Rent Out your Unused Space

A new book entitled “What is mine is yours” (Rachel Botsman – Author)  describes the rapid explosion in traditional sharing (see http://www.collaborativeconsumption.com). The book describes the  rapid explosion in swapping, sharing, bartering, trading and renting being reinvented through the latest technologies and peer-to-peer marketplaces in ways and on a scale never possible before.

But collaborative consumption is not limited to “stuff” there are plenty of other things that can be shared.

With  53,000 self storage units in the USA alone (more than McDonalds and Starbucks combined), and over 1,000 in Australia, the need  for storage space is an increasing. The concept of sharing space by renting out private spare or unused space is a relatively new concept.  Property owners are becoming aware that by renting out an unused garage or driveway for parking, or a spare garden shed or bedroom for storage, they can generate extra income.

Online services like SpaceOut (www.spaceout.com.au) (which caters for a variety of different types of space rentals, including parking, storage, office space and even rural spaces for rent,  make it easy for owners with spare or unused space, to advertise, and put them in touch with people in their own area wanting to rent a space.

Whilst modern societies attitude to “Consumerism” seems unlikely to change in a hurry, it is refreshing to see that alternatives such as Collaborative Consumption are increasingly being considered as serious options.

Australian house prices in capital cities fell 0.2 per cent in August, with analysts predicting a similar level of decline in the months to come. Taking into account the increase in official cash rates announced today, and a string of interest rate rises looming, this is bad news for Australian home owners.

House Prices Down

As reported by The Australian , the latest seasonally adjusted figures from the RP Data-Rismark Hedonic Home Value Index were released yesterday and showed capital city property prices fell 1.2 per cent for the three months to August 2010. This latest fall in Australian property values takes the country’s median home price in major cities to $457,000.

House prices in state capitals fell 0.5 per cent in August, with the hardest hit major city being Perth, where residential property prices lost 4.8 per cent to $460,000 in value for the quarter.

Interest Rates Up

Despite the Reserve Bank of Australia (so far) resisting the temptation to  increase the official cash rate,  they have again warned that rates will need to rise soon to keep inflation in check.  So it is only a matter of time before rates rise, and it is anticipated that this will have a direct and immediate impact on variable mortgage rates, with banks expected to announce increases to their mortgage rates. Analysts believe the banks are preparing to add a further 0.15 percentage points to their mortgage rates (even without an RBA increase).

Space Rental as an Alternative ?

Australian Home Owners and Investors, are looking for other, smarter ways to improve the return on their residential property investments.

For decades, in times of financial need, home owners have rented out a spare room or property to boarders or tenants.  However, the prospect of sharing the home with a “stranger” is daunting, and many who have tried it have had bad experiences that they are not keen to repeat.

Recently, another option for property owners to generate additional income from their investment has emerged.  Property owners with some spare or unused space (a spare room., and empty shed/garage, or even an unused driveway), are now able to rent out that space to earn 100s of extra dollars a month.

The idea of renting out spare or unused space for other purposes is a relatively new concept.  Property owners are becoming aware that by renting out an unused garage or driveway for parking, or a spare garden shed or bedroom for storage, they can still generate an extra income, without the hassles of someone living in their space.

Online services such as FindaCarpark (which specialises in Parking spaces) and SpaceOut (which caters for a variety of different space rentals, including parking, storage, and even rural spaces for rent) make it easy for owners with space for rent, to advertise, and put them in touch with people in their own area looking for space.

These types of web based services are not usually free and there is typically a small listing fee (Findacarpark costs $15 and SpaceOut is currently just $6 to get started), but surely the potential to earn hundreds of dollars extra a month, for a space you are not using is worth giving it a go.

To find out more about how you can capitalise on making an extra income from your spare space,  see www.findacarpark.com.au or www.spaceout.com.au – or do a Google search for “Rent Space Australia“

Australian home and business owners with extra or unused space are beginning to recognise that they can turn their spare space into a regular income – literally making money out of thin air. Services that specialise in linking people who need space with those who have space are becoming big business.

Services which provide a space brokerage or online listing service, such as those provided at www.spaceout.com.au,  are becoming increasingly popular. These services make it simple to either advertise spare space OR search for spare space to rent.

Although originally running as a free service, Spaceout recently introduced a small monthly subscription fee to help support the demand for a broader range of services – by expanding into office, parking, rural and commercial space in addition to the original storage space listings.  Innovative online services like this  have implemented easier navigation and mapping systems and invested in research to help owners set realistic prices for their spare space.

Director of Spaceout Andy Henderson says :

“The demand from our clients has been the driving force behind these developments and have turned what was  a hobby, into a real business for us”.

“Space sharing” or “Private Storage” are industries that are experiencing rapid growth not just in Australia, but throughout the world. Businesses at the forefront of this trend – like Spaceout in Australia, SpareFoot in the USA and Your Parking Space in the UK – are all growing fast.

Spaceout members, Ian and Pat from Brisbane say:

“We recently rented out our spare parking space using Spaceout and now receive a regular passive income. We are happy to pay a small fee to advertise,  if it makes the public more aware of it, and means we can rent out the space faster”

It seems that as time goes on, as the world gets more crowded, space becomes scarcer and increasingly valuable, businesses like SpaceOut will thrive. And remember, if you have some spare space, you too can cash in – simply go to www.spaceout.com.au – you’ll be surprised at just how easy it is.

Seniors who own their home, have discovered that they can now make use of new online services to help them rent out unused space to people searching for storage space. They can earn a steady passive income to help supplement their superannuation or pensions whilst they enjoy their retirement.

Managing Director of space sharing website Spaceout.com.au,  Damon Russell says -

We have been inundated with enquiries from Aussie Seniors nationwide looking to rent out their spare space. “Grey Nomads” (seniors that travel in Caravans or Motorhomes) have been particularly active on the site. They are either offering their spare or vacant space for people to store their possessions or are looking for short to medium term storage space to store their vans. It seems to work both ways for our seniors….Those with space can easily earn a couple of hundred dollars a month and those looking for space can often find a cheaper and more convenient storage solution”.

The Census of Population and Housing (2009) highlighted that approx 80% of Australians over 65 own their home outright. Therefore, a spare room, a shed, an unused garage, or parking space, wasted space under their house, or even an empty wardrobe can all be easily harnessed to earn seniors an extra regular passive income – literally turning thin air into income!

SpaceOut offers an entirely new type of service which provides Australian home and business owners with an opportunity to turn their spare space into a regular passive income.  Homeowners simply list their unused space for rent at www.spaceout.com.au and people looking for space (SpaceSeekers) within a specific area can search to find which spaces are currently available. The easy to use search feature shows spaces that are currently available for rent on a map, making it easy to identify spaces in a local area.

Feedback from seniors has been overwhelmingly positive with most declaring “what a great idea” it is. With thousands of members Australia wide already, and growing fast, www.spaceout.com.au presents a great opportunity for ordinary Australians to make some extra cash with very little effort.

Private Storage is a new, but remarkably simple idea that allows ordinary Australians to rent out reasonably priced, privately owned storage space. Traditionally the only options available to individuals or businesses looking for somewhere to store their extra things, has been to use commercial Public Storage and Self Storage facilities and services.  However, with Private Storage, just about anyone with unused space in their home or business, can advertise and rent out their spare space and convert it into a regular extra income – literally making money out of thin air.
More and more Australians are becoming aware that they can make money out of their empty bedrooms, garages, sheds and even cupboards.  People looking for storage and needing to rent out space to store their things are also realising that there are real alternatives to traditional self storage, and are attracted by the significant cost savings (as much as 50%) and greater convenience offered by Private Storage.

Is Private Storage right for you ?  It is not necessarily suitable for everyone – so here are some of the advantages and disadvantages :

Advantages of Private-Storage:

• You get to make real passive income each month by renting out spare space in your home or business. A shed, part of your garage, a room or even a big cupboard is all it takes to start producing income.
• Rather than dealing with a “live in” tenant – you only have to share your space (and your life) with inanimate objects (with an occasional visit from the owner perhaps)
• It is cheap (or even free) to advertise your space online and very easy to set this up. All you need to do is clear some space, measure it, and list the details online.
• This is still a relatively new idea, so there’s not much competition out there (yet) when you list your space. It is still quite easy to rent your space quickly if you set a reasonable price.
• Until recently, people searching for storage space only had the ‘professional’ option.  By offering Private storage, you get to provide someone with a really good price for storage, while you make money. It is a genuine win-win situation for all..

Disadvantages of Private Storage

• You may need to take some time (and a little effort) to clear out the space and get it ready for a potential space renter. This may take time and thought depending on your particular situation.
• You need to make sure you are clear on insurance if something happens to the stored goods. This usually requires a call to your Insurer. You should tell whoever rents your space if they need to arrange their own insurance.
• Depending on your location, the space itself and the price you charge, you may wait a while for someone to contact you about renting your space.
• You may need to be selective about the types of things that you are willing to store, or what level of access you are willing to offer

If you have some unused space and love the idea of your home making you genuine, ultra low-risk passive income, then Private Storage could very well be the thing for you. It currently costs you nothing to advertise your space, and once it is listed, all you need to do is sit back and wait for someone to contact you.

if you do happen have spare space around your home or business, or if you are searching for storage space then Private Storage is certainly a service that you should consider. For more information, try online services like www.SpaceOut.com.au.

Property owners in cities and towns throughout Australia, with unused garages, parking spots or even driveways are offering them up for rent as private parking – providing a great alternative for people who are fed up with paying high parking rates.  Some owners are charging as little as $150 a month for inner city parking – or even less for suburban spots. Using private parking could save you thousands of dollars a year. A recent study shows that Sydney CBD has a median parking rate of $730 per month.

A new type of online services like that offered at www.spaceout.com.au allows you to locate and get in touch with people who have lock up garages, undercover parking or private driveways that they are willing to rent out on an annual, monthly and even casual basis.

These days many people living in or near capital city CBDs have parking spaces included with their lease but don’t own a vehicle, and don’t need or use the parking spot.  Many of these people are happy to rent out the parking space at a fraction of the normal rate.  They get a regular extra income, and you can get bargain priced parking – it is a win, win situation where everyone benefits.

A spokesman for classified advertising and community website Gumtree said it had seen a “massive increase” in the number of parking spaces and garages for hire in recent months. It has now introduced a section for people looking to rent a garage or parking space.

Whether you need to park near the CBD, sporting arenas, shopping centers, hospitals, theatres or close to a railway station you are probably used to paying a fortune for parking. However space owners with driveways near the CBD, train stations and even major shopping centers are renting out private parking spaces for as little as $150 per month.

Damon Russell from SpaceOut says “we get new listings just about every day from people wanting to lease out their unused space.”   Right now SpaceOut has hundreds of cost effective parking space listings that are available for rent in capital city CBDs and suburban locations throughout Australia.

Steve and Craig from, Sydney currently “share” a garage in Redfern. Steve, “the home owner” leaves early to work at the Sydney airport and Matt parks his car there whilst he is at work from 8.30 -5pm. Steve makes $3000 per year and Craig is saving about $2000 per year on parking fees and is actually closer to his office.

“It works for both the parking space owner and the motorist wanting the space. Drivers typically save between 30 and 70 per cent off the cost of parking when they choose to use this method instead of a commercial car park.” Says Russell.

Some residents close to airports have even been offering lifts to the airport as well as their driveway to park your car.

Private parking space rental is a relatively new concept, but the idea of ”sharing” unused space actually ties in very nicely with societies increasing awareness of the benefits of recycling.  Why not give it a go, save yourself some money on parking fees (or make some extra cash if you are an owner) and do your little bit for a greener community.

The new nation-wide survey reveals some shocking results, with the most expensive storage facilities (in Sydney) charging more than $800 a month for a single garage sized space.

The new survey data – just released on SpaceOut.com.au – shows not only a  huge price gap between city and country areas, but also massive variations between capital cities.  Even within the same city, storage prices in adjacent suburbs (and in some cases the same suburb) can also vary significantly.

More than 700 self storage facilities throughout Australia were surveyed, and asked to provide prices for some of the most popular storage sizes – small (3×3 m), medium (3×5 m) and large (3 x 8m) storage units as well as outside storage/parking for cars and boats.

The most expensive place to rent storage space in the nation is Sydney where you can pay over $800 a month for a regular single-car garage sized space!  This is followed by Melbourne at over $600, and Brisbane at $500 plus.

Not surprisingly, the survey also revealed a significant price discrepancy between city and country storage costs – with country storage units costing around 40-70% of their capital city counterparts.  The cheapest places to store your car or boat were Tasmania, and country regions of SA, WA and Victoria.

Another interesting statistic highlighted by the study, shows that independently owned self storage facilities tend to be priced around 25% lower than self storage facility chains.  The national average for large chains for a 3×7 metre storage unit is $389 a month and the same space from independent facilities averages  just $273 per month.

This survey was commissioned by SpaceOut on behalf of its members – to assist them in setting private storage prices.   Based on these survey results, it is no wonder that people looking for storage space are turning to alternate space rental services such as SpaceOut – which provides an online service where  home and business owners can rent out their unused space to those looking for storage at more affordable rates.

You can find a summary of the Australian Self Storage Price Survey (2009) along with a breakdown (state by state) of the survey results at www.spaceout.com.au

But a new online service has just added hundreds of new storage locations throughout Australia (maybe even in your suburb or street), and the number is rising every day!

Now, anyone with spare space in their  home, business, shed or garage can rent that space out to anyone who wants it! And the best part is that there’s a good chance there is someone in your neighbourhood who has space to rent out right now!!  Because this storage space is private, you can typically pick up some space for heavily discounted rates – often half the price that the big guys are asking!

“The idea came to me when I travelled overseas” says Damon Russell, founder of SpaceOut. “I was able to leave my stuff at a mate’s place and I thought it would be great if anyone needing  storage space could do the same”.

From a Space seeker’s point of view, this service really opens up the field. Regular self storage can cost an arm and a leg – in Brisbane and Melbourne for example, it costs between $350 and $750 per month for a space the size of a single car garage! Sydney costs are even higher. Private storage however, offers the chance to make significant savings.

The flip side to all this is that average Aussies who do have space, can now turn it into a regular cash income they would not otherwise have had access to. Roger H of Carseldine who rents half his garage out says “I think it’s a great opportunity for average people to save some serious cash. I personally like the fact that I can save someone $200 a month on their storage costs  – that’s over $1,000 a year for them – and the rental income for the space sure helps my family out too.”

“We get a lot of great feedback from people telling us how easy the site is to use” says Russell,  “You just locate the area where you’re looking for storage on the website’s map, send a message through the site message system (protecting both parties’ identities) saying you want to look at the space and the owner gets back to you. It’s simple, and many people are actually surprised that it is that easy to find cheap, local storage space.”

SpaceOut is turning heads overseas too. This Australia first concept has been attracting a lot of attention in many countries that could use the service including the US and Europe, and this Aussie innovation will be expanding overseas to give this opportunity to as many people as possible. The service is currently completely free, but is likely to start charging a nominal fee for listings in the near future. It seems like now is the time to get onboard if you’re looking for storage.

Feedback about the site shows that many users have been telling their friends and family about SpaceOut too, either to find or to provide space – this a sure sign that people see the benefits and potential for this type of service. To start searching for space, SpaceOut can be found at www.SpaceOut.com.au. You can search for space from the homepage, and SpaceOut also lists office and parking spaces.

As the Government extends the city’s urban growth boundary by thousands of hectares, a Transport Department report showed there were already 1.3 million spare bedrooms in existing suburbs, enough to accommodate projected population growth during the next 20 years.
Almost 70 per cent of houses within current city limits had extra bedrooms, with the highest proportion in the wealthy eastern and bayside suburbs, and in outer growth suburbs where the blocks are comparatively larger.
The report showed increased wealth had led to homes being built larger than ever, with the number of households having two or more spare bedrooms in the decade to the 2006 census more than doubling. At the same time, the number of people per household had shrunk.
”We are being greedy with space,” said University of Melbourne’s planning expert Philip Goad.
Source: The Age August 11, 2009

A new, innovative online service called SpaceOut has the potential to help make use of these unused bedrooms, making money for the home owners, and at the same time, provide everyday Australians with a solution to their storage problems.

The concept was developed by 3 good mates who saw the need to create a service which caters for the supply and demand of useable ‘space’. The website, www.spaceout.com.au allows home and business owners to advertise their spare space as being available for rent. And now we know there are 1.3 million unused bedrooms in Melbourne – many of which could probably be rented out for storage.

Damon Russell, one of the co-founders says “SpaceOut provides a great platform for people wanting to make an extra income with very little effort. Storage in most cities is becoming very scarce- yet all these houses have spare rooms  If you had an empty room why wouldn’t you rent it out and make some cash?”

SpaceOut already has many spaces advertised across Sydney’s CBD, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide and the number of listings is growing fast.

Nathon Irvin, SpaceOut’s marketing coordinator can’t believe that Melbourne has that many spare rooms…”what a great opportunity for those households to earn money from people seeking cost effective storage”.

As a means to meet this significant growth the plan highlights infill development, i.e. developing already established suburbs, in preference to the creation of new suburbs on the Brisbane city fringe.

The plan suggest that existing suburbs, including Indooroopilly in Brisbane’s west and Carindale, Cleveland and Chermside will move to higher density housing with up to120 dwellings per hectare. This is a continuation of an already obvious trend to higher density living,  with many of Brisbane’s suburbs (particularly those within 10km of the CBD) becoming increasingly re-developed with smaller houses, units and apartments that have been built on what were once large, single dwelling blocks.

With higher density living comes smaller living areas, and often storage seems to be one of the first things to go in these designs for higher density accommodation.  However, we are a consumer society, and face the dilemma of where to keep our ever increasing stuff in our ever decreasing spaces.  As more people move to units and apartments, they need to either reduce the quantity of things they own, or get smart about what they do with it and how they store it. Increasingly the solution involves the clever use of storage space.  Modern kitchens are full of innovative storage ideas and there are even specialist storage consultants that will come to your house and help you work out the most efficient ways to store your things.

Self Storage facilities have also seen a steady growth in popularity over the last few years. The Self Storage Association of Australia (SSAA) has identified strong growth in the Australian storage industry during 2008, but there have also been significant increases in average storage fee rates in 2007 and the first half of 2008. However in these tougher economic times, people are finding it harder to afford the costs associated with traditional self storage facilities and are looking for alternatives.

An innovative new concept called Private Storage is tackling this need for extra storage head on, and not only provides a real alternative to traditional self storage services – that is more convenient and cheaper than ever before – but also provides an opportunity for home and business owners to actually generate an extra income, by renting out spare or under utilised space.

The new online service at www.spaceout.com.au allows people to save or make money with self storage, through the use of unused or wasted space in homes and business within your own community.  SpaceOut offers a comprehensive search facility to find a storage space that meets your specific needs, at a price you are willing to pay, in your own suburb – and maybe even your own street.

Higher density living is a worldwide phenomenon, and one that Australia is perhaps a little slow in adopting – but that is certainly changing The ever increasing pressure to maximise the use of our spaces – at home and work – means that we need to get smarter about how we store out=r things.  Innovative storage ideas like SpaceOut are the way of the future.