TractIQ and CRED iQ Establish Verified Operating Performance as the New Underwriting Standard for Self-Storage
Verified occupancy and financial performance data mark a permanent shift in self-storage underwriting
Austin, TX, January 20, 2026 — TractIQ, the market intelligence platform built specifically for the self-storage industry, today announced a partnership with CRED iQ that establishes verified, facility-level occupancy and historic financial performance as the new underwriting standard for self-storage.
Investors, operators, brokers, lenders, and developers can now analyze borrower-reported in place operating performance for CMBS-reporting self-storage facilities directly within underwriting workflows.
While similar levels of transparency are available across other institutional real estate asset classes, it has historically been absent in self-storage. For decades, billions of dollars were invested each year without access to verified, facility-level operating performance. Market participants were forced to rely on proxy signals like advertised rates, supply pipelines, demographic trends, and anecdotal guidance without visibility into how individual facilities were actually performing.
As capital has become more selective and underwriting scrutiny has intensified, the limits of proxy-based underwriting in self-storage have become increasingly difficult to ignore.
That era is over.
Raising the Bar for Self-Storage Underwriting
TractIQ was built on a simple belief: making seven-figure real estate decisions with incomplete or stale data is unacceptable.
Founded by operators and investors who experienced these gaps firsthand, TractIQ evolved from an internal underwriting tool into the system of record for self-storage market intelligence. The platform tracks more than 70,000 operating and development facilities nationwide and serves as the official data provider for the 2026 Self-Storage Almanac.
Through its integration with CRED iQ, TractIQ now embeds verified operating performance data covering all of the active CMBS loans secured by self-storage facilities, with in-place occupancy and the most recent and historical income and expenses.
CRED iQ serves the CRE and CMBS industry as an authorized market data provider covering the full universe of securitized loans and all commercial property types.
As underwriting expectations rise and capital structures grow more complex, proxy-based underwriting is no longer a shortcut. It is a material risk.
By embedding CMBS-based performance data from CRED iQ directly into TractIQ, users can now analyze real, borrower-reported operating performance alongside market conditions, supply-and-demand dynamics, rate history, and ownership data—all within a single underwriting workflow.
This level of transparency enables sharper market identification, more disciplined underwriting, and greater confidence in capital allocation.
What the Integration Delivers
The TractIQ and CRED iQ integration removes one of the last structural blind spots in self-storage underwriting by delivering verified, borrower-reported, facility-level operating performance, including:
- Historic occupancy trends (facility-level)
- Historic financial statements covering rental income, operating expenses, and NOI
This data is sourced from CMBS disclosures relied upon by lenders, ratings agencies, and institutional investors to evaluate credit risk and asset performance. While portions of this information have existed in public filings for years, it was never practical to normalize, contextualize, and deploy at scale within a self-storage underwriting workflow.
What was once a competitive advantage is now the baseline. Verified operating performance is no longer an edge. It is a requirement.
Self-storage underwriting is aligning with the standards long applied to multifamily, office, industrial, and retail real estate.
Industry Leaders on the Shift
“This marks a real shift for the self-storage industry,” said Noah Starr, CEO of TractIQ. “Bringing real, reported operating data into a storage-first platform sets the standard for how deals are underwritten, financed, and priced. We’re grateful to partner with CRED iQ, whose institutional-grade CMBS data and analytical rigor make this level of transparency possible. Once verified operating performance is available at scale, underwriting without it is no longer defensible.”
“Self-storage has become a meaningful institutional asset class, but access to verified operating performance has lagged other sectors,” said Michael Haas, CEO of CRED iQ. “We are excited to partner with TractIQ to bring CMBS-based occupancy and financial performance data into a platform built specifically for self-storage. This integration provides a more rigorous and consistent foundation for evaluating assets.”
Early Industry Impact
“Competitive occupancy has always been one of the hardest metrics to track with confidence,” said Cameron Skreden, Storage Star. “Having real, reported occupancy at the facility level, layered with historic financials, materially changes underwriting and helps us make smarter revenue and pricing decisions. For us, it is a game changer.”
“This is the first truly differentiating upgrade we’ve seen in self-storage data,” said John C. Lindsey, Lindsey Self Storage Group. “Reliable facility-level occupancy, historic financials, and deep rate history provide a complete snapshot of a market in one place. It can pay for itself with a single deal.”
“This represents a major step forward in transparency for the self-storage industry,” said Armand Aghadjanians, Store Here. “Having facility-level occupancy and historic financial data in one place fundamentally changes how deals are evaluated. TractIQ just set a new standard for how serious operators and investors underwrite assets.”
Built on Trust, Accuracy, and Consistency
TractIQ’s approach is grounded in accuracy, transparency, and repeatability. The platform is designed to support high-stakes decisions with data users can trust.
“Our customers rely on TractIQ to make critical investment and operating decisions,” Starr added. “We take that responsibility seriously. Everything we build is designed to earn and protect our customers’ confidence not just in their deals, but in the integrity of the self-storage market as a whole.”
Data Availability
CMBS-based facility-level occupancy and financial data will be available to TractIQ Pro+ customers. Additional enhancements and expanded analytics are planned throughout 2026.
Self-storage is no longer underwritten on signals and inference; it is now underwritten on verified operating performance.
About TractIQ
TractIQ is the definitive market intelligence platform for self-storage, tracking more than 70,000 facilities across the U.S. By combining verified, facility-level occupancy and historic financial performance with owner data, rental comps, and supply-and-demand analytics, TractIQ sets a new standard for underwriting and deal execution. TractIQ is the official data provider for the Self-Storage Almanac and is trusted by leading investors, operators, and brokerages nationwide.
About CRED iQ
CRED iQ is a commercial real estate analytics firm specializing in credit, performance, and risk intelligence derived from CMBS and institutional real estate disclosures. CRED iQ provides facility-level operating insights used by investors, lenders, and asset managers to evaluate asset performance, risk exposure, and market trends across the United States.
