The combination of a housing shortage and an improving economy has created a new issue for people moving to Central Oregon: a dearth of available self-storage space.

A few Bend storage facilities still have units available, including Northwest Crossing Self Storage on NW Lolo Drive, which opened this month, according to manager Linda Eaton. However, several more established storage units are reporting no vacancies and extended waiting lists.

“I’m not an economist, but it seems like it’s connected to the housing market,” said Steve Miller, assistant manager of Jamison Street Self Storage , in Bend.

The storage center, located at 63177 NE Jamison St., opened in 2008, just as Central Oregon’s housing market began to collapse. But today, all of Jamison Street’s approximately 320 units are full, and there’s a waiting list.

“In our first year, the owner was giving storage away, basically,” Miller said. “And now, it’s completely the opposite.”

In 2014, Oregon was named the top moving destination for the second year in a row in the National Movers Study, produced by the moving company United Van Lines. The study found that Oregon had the highest percentage of movers entering the state, rather than exiting. Central Oregon in particular has been a recipient of this growth, as Deschutes County grew by 2.67 percent from July 2013 to July 2014, making it the fastest-growing county in Oregon.

Miller said the shortage tends to get more severe every year from around May to September, which is considered moving season in Central Oregon.

Dave Romine, manager of Old Mill Self Storage on SW Industrial Way, said the improving economy and the lack of housing options has made it more common for people to move to Bend before they’ve found a home, so they have no place to store their belongings.

“We have people moving to town who don’t have a place to live yet, and don’t have any place to store their stuff, and they’re sitting out here in a U-Haul truck,” Romine said.

Old Mill Self Storage still had a couple openings as of Thursday morning. The facility is owned by the Clackamas-based Northwest Self Storage, which also owns three other storage facilities in Bend.

Romine said the four facilities coordinate to find open space for customers, but as business has accelerated over the last year, that doesn’t guarantee they’ll have vacancies.

Miller speculated that, as rents have risen with the expanding economy, longtime residents have had to downsize or move back in with family members, forcing them to store stuff that won’t fit in their new living arrangements. On the other end of the market, Miller said, more affluent residents use storage spaces for boats and cars when they aren’t using them.

The shortage situation has gotten so severe that Romine said he’s seen Bend residents go as far as Prineville for storage space. However, even going to outlying areas is not a panacea.

Lorrie Bosch, site manager for S & R Storage in La Pine, said she has a two-page waiting list and has been full all year. While she said most of her customers were local, a handful were from Bend, 30 miles to the north.

“Usually in the winter, things open up a bit,” Bosch said. “This is pretty new.”

— Reporter: 541-617-7818, shamway@bendbulletin.com