Why Self storage?
Self-storage is the fastest growing sector of commercial real estate and a stable investment when compared to other asset classes. The investment community has recently taken notice of self-storage as a viable commercial real estate asset class, and the underlying dynamics continue to fuel the sector’s success. With 1 in 10 American households utilizing self-storage on a regular basis, the sector repeatedly generates more than $22 billion in annual U.S. revenues for it's investors and management companies.
How Many Facilities Are There?
There are over 54,000 Self-Storage facilities
in the USA.
Average Size of Primary Facility
The average (mean) size of a “primary” self storage facility in the USA is approximately 56,900 Square Feet.
Acquisition Volume
Approximately $2.8 billion acquisition volume in 2015.
How Much Do We Really Store?
Americans store 2.3 billion square
feet of stuff, which is more than 78 square miles–three times the size of Manhattan
How Many Developments In 2015?
Only 41 properties were constructed in 2015 out of the 159 announced. The limited new development in key markets presented little impact in those markets.
Do People Really Use Self-Storage
Everyone needs self-storage at some point in their lives. A life event of some sort drives an individual to a storage facility and in the best and worst of times, it is a necessity. As a society, we pride ourselves on the accumulation of goods over time and we tend to be hesitant to throw these items out. Recessions have little impact on self-storage... homeowners downsizing will often need to store their goods until the recession is over.The recent recession hurt the sector only slightly; displaced homeowners often moved to apartments or smaller homes and still needed to store excess household items.
Why Demand For Self-Storage Remains Steady
Despite the short-term rental contracts, that pervasive reluctantance to rid our lives of our precious memories continues to drive consumers to self-storage. Once in storage, people tend to stay for extended periods of time. Estimates are that one-third of storage space is filled with items that have been there for over three years.