australian self storage price survey (2009)

October 20th 2009

A new nation-wide survey of Self Storage Prices has revealed huge price variations within the Australian self storage industry!

The new survey data - just released on SpaceOut.com.au - shows not only a huge price gap between city and the country areas, but also massive variations between, and even within, capital cities. Storage prices in adjacent suburbs (and in some cases the same suburb/town) can 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 (3x3 m), medium (3x5 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/boat were Tasmania, and country regions of SA, WA and Victoria.

Another interesting statistic also highlighted by the study, shows that independently owned self storage facilities tend to be priced around 25% lower than the larger storage facility chains. The national average for large chains for a 3x7 metre storage unit is $389 a month and the same space from independent facilities averages at 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, people looking for storage space are likely to turn to alternate space rental services like SpaceOut, where home and business owners 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.