Street-rate declines persisted in Q4, but continues to stabilize. REIT street rates declined 3.9% YoY in Q4 2025, a much more modest drop than the 18.9% YoY decline recorded in Q4 2024.

Achieved rate pressure eased. REIT achieved rates declined 2.5% YoY, representing the smallest YoY decline since Q3 2024. Discounting remained elevated, and several REITs cited higher-than-normal pricing competition from both sophisticated and non-sophisticated operators.

Occupancy showed one of the clearest signs of an inflection point. Weighted average REIT occupancy declined QoQ, but increased 0.3% YoY — the first YoY occupancy gain since Q4 2021. This suggests the sector is moving from deterioration to stabilization.

Expense growth moderated, and NOI may be nearing a trough. NSA was the only REIT to report a year-over-year expense decline (-0.8%), while Extra Space’s expense growth slowed materially from earlier in 2025. Extra Space was also the only REIT to post positive same-store NOI growth in Q4 at 0.1% YoY — the first positive YoY NOI result among the REITs since TractIQ started tracking the data in Q2 2024.

Recovery remains highly market-specific. Florida and Texas markets continued to show weakness, with Tampa, North Port-Sarasota, Houston, and San Antonio among the weakest for YoY street-rate growth. By contrast, St. Louis, Richmond, Boston, and Louisville posted relative strength.