On Friday, I posed an important question to the storage owners/operators/investors out there: Should those of you who run or support standard self-storage businesses in which units are RENTED feel threatened by the burgeoning storage-condo market in which customers purchase their units outright? We're not yet certain how the former will be affected in the long term. What we do know is this new product is coming on like gangbusters.

Just last week, for example, Tom Cook of the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report announced that 50 storage condos are being built and marketed in that area. The units are 1,000 square feet, big enough to store large RVs and boats, and they feature large driveways, wash areas and access control. Apparently, they're nearly sold out and they're not even finished.

Stories like this one are popping up in papers across the country. Watch for them, and I'll point them out in the blog too. And please do let me know your thoughts on the issue.