After nearly three years of declining rates, the self-storage sector posted its first month of annual rent growth in September. National advertised rents rose 0.9% year-over-year, reaching an annualized per-square-foot rate of $16.80 across all unit sizes and types. That compares with 0.3% growth in August and 0.1% in July, according to Yardi Matrix’s October national self-storage report.
Month-over-month rate declines also slowed in September to just 0.7%, a significant improvement from the steeper drops of 1.2% in 2024 and 1.5% in 2023. This shift suggests a return to normal seasonal patterns, Yardi Matrix noted.
The firm described this change as a potential turning point for the industry, as both institutional and independent operators begin to show signs of recovery. Markets in the Sun Belt and Midwest were key contributors to national rent growth, signaling improving conditions across diverse geographies.
Nearly all of the top 30 metros tracked by Yardi Matrix saw stronger annual rate growth in September compared to August. Same-store advertised rates for non-climate-controlled (NCC) units rose in 19 of the top 30 metros, while climate-controlled (CC) unit rates increased in 24 metros year-over-year.
Self-storage REITs were especially aggressive in pushing rate growth, with stabilized properties posting a 2.6% year-over-year increase in rents—far outpacing the 0.1% increase seen by non-REIT competitors. Despite slower growth, non-REIT operators still recorded their strongest annual rate gains since 2022.
After benefiting from disruption-driven demand, Washington, D.C., is showing signs of softening. It posted one of the steepest month-over-month rent declines at -1.7%. Midwest cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit and Indianapolis outperformed in annual rent growth in September, benefiting from strong multifamily fundamentals and limited new supply.
Despite elevated new supply in Philadelphia, advertised rents increased 2.1% year-over-year in September. Deliveries have noticeably declined over the past year, allowing the market to support rent growth. Meanwhile, in Nashville, construction activity ticked up from 4.7% to 5.3% of existing inventory, which could exert downward pressure on rates moving forward.
Nationwide, 52.5 million rentable square feet are currently under construction, representing 2.6% of existing inventory—a 0.1% decrease from the previous month.
Yardi Matrix also announced an expansion of its monthly coverage to better align with the country’s largest and most institutional self-storage markets. New additions include Detroit, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City and Sarasota–Cape Coral. The firm has also combined key suburban New York markets—such as Northern and Central New Jersey, Long Island, and White Plains—into a unified “New York Suburbs” category. Meanwhile, smaller metros like Charleston, Columbus, Sacramento, and Raleigh-Durham have been shifted into the secondary market coverage pool.
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