As in other locations, Oregon self-storage operators are reporting high occupanies and high numbers of defaults in reaction to the recession, according to The World, a newspaper in Coos Bay, Ore.

Other changes in the local self-storage market include more tenants who have lost jobs or homes and need self-storage while in transition, as well as fewer California transplants. Additionally, contractors looking to store construction equipment have all but disappeared, no doubt a response to the slow construction and real estate market.

Local operators are employing interesting techniques to try to decrease the number of delinquent tenants. Some managers allow tenants to sync their auto-pay rent payments with paychecks instead of making rent due on a specific day. But when tenants default, attendance at auctions is through the roof, probably thanks to the popularity of A&E's "Storage Wars" and SPIKE TV's "Auction Hunters."

Lastly, Oregon operators report having to chase out tenants who are living in units, more so than before the recession.

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