Almost every headline in self storage is a REIT headline, because REITs are the only operators required to publish earnings. They run 16% of the facilities. This three-page briefing reports on the other 84%.
Every headline in self storage is a REIT headline, because REITs are the only operators required to publish. They run 16% of the facilities.
This briefing reports the other 84%. Where the data splits by who runs the store, it splits hard: independents posted stronger rate growth than REITs this year, the occupancy recovery happened almost entirely outside the REITs, and the REIT-managed share of square footage falls under 10% once you leave the top 25 markets.
TractIQ tracks over 68,000 operating facilities and 2.77 billion gross square feet of self-storage. When that data is split by who actually operates the store, the industry stops looking like one market. Independently managed facilities make up 65.7% of facilities at a median 17,150 sq ft, against 64,905 for a REIT-managed store. REIT brands manage 50.7% of square footage in the top 25 MSAs and 9.7% outside the top 100, where 536 of 826 markets have no REIT-managed square footage at all.
Street Rate Increase Year Over Year
BP Increase Year Over Year
Sq Ft. Under Construction
Rates. Independent managers grew street rate 6.5% year over year against 4.7% for REITs. The 41% REIT street rate premium narrows to 12% on the web rate, where 98.8% of REIT-run stores discount online and 18% of independents do.
Occupancy. Sophisticated and independent managers increased occupancy year over year +810 bps and +130 bps, respectively.
Supply. 47.1M sq ft under construction, 1.70% of stock, with 144.3M sq ft sitting in planning. Only 98 of 826 small markets have anything being built.
Capital and entry economics. Non-core cap rates at a 7.75% midpoint, a $2.50M median asking price and $84.88 median $/sq ft.
Demand. Length of stay has moved from 9 to 14 months in 2017 to 18 to 19 months today, with existing home sales still near a 30-year floor.
REIT brands manage over 10,000 facilities: 16.3% of the store count but 29.4% of the square footage. Independents manage over 43,000 stores, 65.7% of facilities and 46.2% of the footage.
Barely. REIT brands manage 50.7% of square footage in the top 25 MSAs and 9.7% outside the top 100. Every one of the top 100 MSAs has a REIT presence; outside them, 536 of 826 markets have no REIT-managed square footage at all.
