SINGAPORE: Singapore’s self-storage industry is feeling boxed in, with operators pushed to almost full capacity as demand for space from e-commerce businesses and individuals continues to surge.
While recent moves have helped increase the supply of available land, industry players said that rising costs are becoming a major stumbling block to their expansion plans.
One self-storage operator, Storefriendly, has reached close to maximum capacity at its premises in Paya Lebar. The company has seven locations across the island.
Its storage units can be rented on a flexible basis for as short as one month – a key draw for small e-commerce businesses that need short-term warehousing solutions.
But even with such offerings, operators are struggling to keep up.
“We get more inquiries when people develop the need (for self-storage) … but to drive the need, it depends to a large extent on external factors, and these can change,” said Storefriendly’s CEO Jes Johansen.
He told CNA that the firm tries to be “one step ahead of full occupancy”, given that higher occupancy rates means it cannot offer certain storage unit sizes or products to other consumers.
The Paya Lebar branch of self-storage firm Storefriendly.
According to a survey conducted for the Self Storage Association Asia last year, business owners now account for about 40 per cent of self-storage customers in Singapore – a rise from 26 per cent in 2023.
“Overall, in the portfolio, we're above 85 per cent (occupancy) and that's too high for my liking. We would like to have more space all the time – some of that is timing,” said Mr Johansen.
To expand capacity at its Paya Lebar branch, Storefriendly took over space from other tenants last July, fully converting the entire six-floor building into a self-storage facility. However, the additional space is still not enough to meet growing demand.
“Overall, in Singapore, the demand is such that you could pretty much double the industry in Singapore,” Mr Johansen added.
“You’ve got 6 million people and 40,000-plus storage rooms – one in 150 – so there's a lot of room for expansion.”
In April, industrial landlord JTC Corporation lifted a temporary suspension to allow self-storage requests on selected industrial land – a move that industry players have welcomed.
Selected sites in areas such as Bishan, Clementi, and Tampines are now available for self-storage use.
Self Storage Association Asia’s chair Helen Ng noted: “There is clarity, and it has helped all the operators, because the fact that we couldn't do any expansion in almost three years, hasn't helped the business.
“But now that the moratorium has lifted, we are free to go out and look at real estate, knowing that it is all kosher,” added Ms Ng, who is also CEO of self-storage firm Lock+Store.
Around 700,000 sqm of new industrial space is expected to be added by the end of the year. JTC said it will continue to monitor demand and work closely with the self-storage sector to ensure there is sufficient room for growth.
The storage association said that operators prefer JTC-managed land due to better prices, which can be up to a third lower than private market rates, thanks to shorter lease terms.
JTC is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry that develops and manages a wide range of facilities, including industrial parks.
But even with more land on offer, a larger challenge lies in rising costs.
Industrial space prices grew by 5.3 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, according to the latest figures from JTC.
Ms Ng said that while the nature of the self-storage industry means it has to deal with real estate issues, it can control factors like internal efficiency, or its own use of space.
This means using technology like predictive AI to analyse customer trends and target the right segment.
“The only impediment for us (is) the rising cost of real estate in Singapore … obviously, we don't want to pass all that on to our customers, right?” she questioned.
“In my 10, 12 years in the business, rental has almost doubled … but the cost of rental to our customers hasn’t doubled. It’s not just rent – it’s utilities, salaries, everything has increased.
“So it’s just a much more expensive environment to be operating today,” Ms Ng added.
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While recent moves have helped increase the supply of available land, industry players said that rising costs are becoming a major stumbling block to their expansion plans.
One self-storage operator, Storefriendly, has reached close to maximum capacity at its premises in Paya Lebar. The company has seven locations across the island.
Its storage units can be rented on a flexible basis for as short as one month – a key draw for small e-commerce businesses that need short-term warehousing solutions.
But even with such offerings, operators are struggling to keep up.
“We get more inquiries when people develop the need (for self-storage) … but to drive the need, it depends to a large extent on external factors, and these can change,” said Storefriendly’s CEO Jes Johansen.
He told CNA that the firm tries to be “one step ahead of full occupancy”, given that higher occupancy rates means it cannot offer certain storage unit sizes or products to other consumers.
The Paya Lebar branch of self-storage firm Storefriendly.
According to a survey conducted for the Self Storage Association Asia last year, business owners now account for about 40 per cent of self-storage customers in Singapore – a rise from 26 per cent in 2023.
“Overall, in the portfolio, we're above 85 per cent (occupancy) and that's too high for my liking. We would like to have more space all the time – some of that is timing,” said Mr Johansen.
To expand capacity at its Paya Lebar branch, Storefriendly took over space from other tenants last July, fully converting the entire six-floor building into a self-storage facility. However, the additional space is still not enough to meet growing demand.
“Overall, in Singapore, the demand is such that you could pretty much double the industry in Singapore,” Mr Johansen added.
“You’ve got 6 million people and 40,000-plus storage rooms – one in 150 – so there's a lot of room for expansion.”
MORE LAND BUT COSTS CLIMBING
In April, industrial landlord JTC Corporation lifted a temporary suspension to allow self-storage requests on selected industrial land – a move that industry players have welcomed.
Selected sites in areas such as Bishan, Clementi, and Tampines are now available for self-storage use.
Self Storage Association Asia’s chair Helen Ng noted: “There is clarity, and it has helped all the operators, because the fact that we couldn't do any expansion in almost three years, hasn't helped the business.
“But now that the moratorium has lifted, we are free to go out and look at real estate, knowing that it is all kosher,” added Ms Ng, who is also CEO of self-storage firm Lock+Store.
Around 700,000 sqm of new industrial space is expected to be added by the end of the year. JTC said it will continue to monitor demand and work closely with the self-storage sector to ensure there is sufficient room for growth.
The storage association said that operators prefer JTC-managed land due to better prices, which can be up to a third lower than private market rates, thanks to shorter lease terms.
JTC is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry that develops and manages a wide range of facilities, including industrial parks.
But even with more land on offer, a larger challenge lies in rising costs.
Industrial space prices grew by 5.3 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, according to the latest figures from JTC.
Ms Ng said that while the nature of the self-storage industry means it has to deal with real estate issues, it can control factors like internal efficiency, or its own use of space.
This means using technology like predictive AI to analyse customer trends and target the right segment.
“The only impediment for us (is) the rising cost of real estate in Singapore … obviously, we don't want to pass all that on to our customers, right?” she questioned.
“In my 10, 12 years in the business, rental has almost doubled … but the cost of rental to our customers hasn’t doubled. It’s not just rent – it’s utilities, salaries, everything has increased.
“So it’s just a much more expensive environment to be operating today,” Ms Ng added.
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