The Great Aussie Storage Monopoly (Because We Have One..)

Let’s talk about the real property power players in Australia. Nope, not the Vaucluse & Bellevue Hill mansions, not high-rise apartments being rolled out Australia wide and not even tiny homes on wheels or in the quant country side. We're talking about storage units & storage facilities. Those concrete boxes where your camping gear, tax records from 2009, and your ex’s lawn furniture (no judgement) all go to collect dust & your cash.

Waterside Boardwalks, But Make It a Saucy Roller Door Instead

Right now, Australia's self-storage industry is booming. With over 2,000 facilities, nearly 700,000 units and 1 in 10 Aussies now storing, we’ve become a nation obsessed with hoarding & keeping useless bits and pieces that we claim to "need in the future" but politely, and in climate-controlled comfort as we have fabulous storage facilities in Australia.

And three major players, the big guns, the masters in storage - National Storage REIT, Storage King, and Kennards. Between the 3, the own a whopping slice of that storage pie.

Spoiler alert: that delicious pie is made of concrete, corrugated metal, steel and a whole lot of shelving (if requested and paid for monthly)

It’s no surprise. Aussies love their space, but property prices don’t - with the ever decrease in living space - storage is now a pleasant option (maybe?)

So what do you do when you run out of room in your shoebox apartment but can’t part with your childhood cricket trophies that your mum MADE you keep or three spare air fryer? Let's be honest - we have all upgraded at some point!

You rent a storage unit. For months (the goal). Okay, years (the reality).

The Game of Storage Thrones

Here's where it gets juicy (not violent, as the title suggests). These storage giants aren’t just passively offering space, conveniently they’re playing real-life Monopoly (and killing it). They're buying up facilities faster than you can say “declutter,” raising rents like it's Airbnb, and building flashy new storage fortresses with coded gates, CCTV, and possibly a moat. (Okay, no moat… yet.)

National Storage REIT is Australia’s biggest storage landlord and acts like it. Storage King is aggressively expanding under the watchful eye of Abacus Storage King and now even has billionaires and an $80 billion American storage behemoth sniffing around it like it’s the last sausage sanga at Bunnings.

And Kennards? They’re the OGs, family-run, fiercely independent, and not above cheeky marketing campaigns that make your storage guilt feel charming and necessary.. But kings at what they do..

What’s the Cheat Code?

Well, when three players control most of the board (we have all been there around a family game of monopoly), there’s not a lot of room left for the little guys to build. Independent operators find themselves squeezed out often, and customers? Well, they're the ones paying $300 a month (to a "premium" or "popular" storage facility) to store a couch they no longer like or fits in the new pad, but feel emotionally attached to. (SYS > Donate)

And in true monopoly fashion where tempers flair, once you're in, you're stuck & addicted. Moving out of a storage unit is right up there with switching telcos or cancelling a gym membership (HA - never happens) it sounds easy until you try have a crack at it..

A Nation of (Well-Organised & Secret) Hoarders

Is it a bubble? Are we in a fad in Australia? A brilliantly boring business model? That is being silently but excellently executed. Or just Australia’s answer to the question: “Where does all this stuff go? What do I do? Where does it all go?

WHO HELPS ME TACKLE THIS?”

Whatever it is, the self-storage industry is quietly becoming one of the most powerful sectors in Aussie real estate.

So next time you drive past another shiny new storage complex popping up next to your local servo or your favourite pub, remember: it’s not just a one box or one piece of furniture in there..

It’s part of the great secret Australian Storage Monopoly. And you? You’re probably paying rent on items you haven't seen in years..

Moral of the story: Declutter your life (with SYS obviously)… or accept that your Christmas decorations now live in a corporate empire that enjoys your credit cards details every month.