60% of Singaporeans see productivity boost with more space at home: StorHub Space Survey

80% say 100 sq ft of additional space is worth from S$250 to over S$1,000 a month

Singapore, 12 January 2024 – In reflection of the high demand for residential space in Singapore, 60% of Singaporeans agree that they can be more productive if they have more space at home for work or study. 80% of Singaporeans value an additional 100 square feet (sq ft) of space (about the size of a HDB room) at home at between S$250 and over S$1,000 a month.

These were among the key findings of a survey commissioned by StorHub Self Storage Group (StorHub), Asia Pacific's leading self storage platform, to ascertain Singaporeans’ perceptions of and attitudes towards space. The survey is a follow-up to StorHub’s inaugural survey in 2021.

This comes as the average household size in Singapore has been decreasing – from 3.75 persons per household in 1997 to 3.09 persons in 2021. As a result, the mix of Housing & Development Board (HDB) flats has changed. Where four-room HDB flats used to be the smallest type in the past, they are the average flat type today. Smaller flats such as two-room Flexi and three-room flats have reduced the average size of residential space. The average HDB flat size reached a peak in the 1990s at about 1,400 sq ft, before dipping to about 970 sq ft by the mid-2010s .

"As a limited and highly sought-after commodity in Singapore, residential space is greatly prized, and these findings underscore the strong demand we are seeing for self storage as an extension of people’s physical space beyond their homes. Self storage provides valuable space for companies, small business owners and solopreneurs, in turn boosting their business growth. For families and individuals, it also provides space that helps them declutter their homes and enables the pursuit of their passions and hobbies – be it collecting curios, toys, wine, or any other interests they may have," said Luigi La Tona, Group Director of Operations, StorHub.

The survey, which covered more than 1,000 respondents based on demographic representation, also found that 62% of Singaporeans cleaned up or decluttered their homes to make space for home offices during the COVID-19 pandemic. As hybrid work arrangements have become entrenched, 70% of them have retained their home office even after COVID-19 became endemic.

Strikingly, the survey found that bedrooms (46%), storage rooms (41%) and kitchens (33%) were the three most challenging areas in a home to keep organised, with limited space cited as the reason for this. If they had additional space, 39% would use it for storage to be more organised, 33% would use it as a workout area to do exercises and 32% would expand their living or recreational area. About 20% of Singaporeans would use this space to earn more money, either by renting it out or starting a home-based business.

More space, better quality of life

Nearly half of Singaporeans (47%) would consider renting additional storage space to declutter and free up space at home, while 35% would use it to store seasonal or infrequently used items.

"These findings emphasise that more space improves the quality of life of Singaporeans. It reiterates the point that self storage helps businesses and people organise their space better. This leads to higher productivity and hence monetary gains, as well as improved physical and mental health," La Tona said. "We are pleased that we have been fulfilling Singaporeans’ self storage needs over the past 21 years and look forward to continuing to do our utmost in serving the community by catering to their lifestyle needs and aspirations through our self storage solutions."

About StorHub

StorHub is a leading self storage platform in Asia Pacific with operations across key gateway cities in the region. Founded in Singapore in 2003, StorHub currently owns and manages facilities spanning over 6.8 million square feet of GFA and more than 70,000 storage units across key markets in Australia, Greater China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Korea. StorHub offers individuals and businesses a range of reliable and secure storage solutions to resolve storage challenges at home or work. For more information, please visit https://www.storhub.com.sg and follow us on Instagram and Facebook.