Response To Call Spike

We had a lot of west coast calls yesterday. It is not unusual to see a lot of west coast calls. Although I suspect the storage market in southern California is much stronger than other areas. We have started tracking call volume by region and initial examination seems to support my theory. The mood of owners and operators at the California Self Storage Association meeting last week in San Diego was very positive. It may be that demand in that market coupled with the high barriers to entry for new players is creating favorable conditions that are creating lasting demand well past the traditional busy season we might expect or that we seem to experience in other areas of the country.

It may be that the softening of home sales and the leveling off or drop in existing home selling prices is causing a wave of home buying we might not see in that market this time of year. It may also mean people who cannot get what they want for their house are using storage as their space solution rather than buying up to a bigger home.

I also suspect that it is just demographic and geographic pressure. The mass numbers of people on the move in California must reach many breaking points. It reminds me of interstate traffic patterns when that one extra car enters the roadway five mile north of where you are driving, you are all of a sudden bogged down in bumper to bumper traffic.

I suspect what is starting to happen is that in big markets like southern Californian and New York City, it only takes a handful of extra storage shoppers coupled with a few store staffers who are busy or out sick and we notice.