While fundamentals and advertised rates remain weak, the self-storage industry is cautiously optimistic, thanks to some positive movement. September’s interest rate cut has led to more certainty in the investment market, while REIT occupancy has flattened.
Yardi Matrix recently presented at the Colorado SSA Annual Meeting in Denver, where the mood was cautiously optimistic, as fundamentals remain weak, but there is more certainty in the investment market following the Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September.Â
Transaction volume year-to-date improved to down 18% year-over-year in October, from -50% earlier in the year. Mike Burnam of StorageMart presented the company’s storied 
history and some of its astute insights on the sector, indicating belief storage will not return to long-term average performance trends until 2026 or 2027.Â
There are some bright spots on the horizon, though, including flattening REIT occupancy. All eyes will be on Q3 same-store results, which will be released at the end of the month.Â
Highlights: Advertised rates continue to drop year-over-year across the top metrosÂ
On a national level, advertised rate growth continues to be negative. Nationwide, advertised rates were down 3.5% year-over-year in September, an improvement from -4.3% rent growth in August, despite a 1% drop month-over-month. Rents have trended down yea-rover-year for 25 straight months, but the decreases could be less extensive going into winter after last year’s rapid declines.
Advertised rate growth also remains negative year-over-year in nearly all of Yardi Matrix’s top metros. Same-store rates for non-climate-controlled (NCC) units were negative in all top metros except Washington, D.C., while those for climate-controlled (CC) units decreased in all 30 top metros in September compared to last year, ranging from -0.5% in Portland to -8.3% in Atlanta.
Nationally, Yardi Matrix tracks a total of 3,418 self-storage properties in various stages of development, including 850 under construction, 2,065 planned and 503 prospective properties. The share of projects (net rentable square feet) under construction nationwide was equivalent to 3.4% of existing stock through the end of September.
Yardi Matrix also maintains operational profiles for 32,478 completed self-storage facilities in the U.S., bringing the total dataset to 35,896. Yardi is also happy to announce the release of its new Peoria, Shreveport, Montgomery and Duluth storage markets, all of which are now available to Yardi Matrix customers on the subscriber portal.
