Self-Storage Shows Strength in 3Q

CHICAGO—Self-storage buildings have continued to perform well during the third quarter of 2013, according to a new report by Chicago-based MJ Partners Real Estate Services. The top four self-storage companies all saw revenue increases between 5.5% and 9.0% in the third quarter, MJ Partners found. Furthermore, the NOIs of each company grew as well, ranging from 7.2% to 10.0% year-over-year. The researchers also found strong customer demand and robust acquisition activity. Occupancy rates ranged from 90.5% to 94.4% and the publicly-listed REIT Public Storage, the largest storage firm with 2,110 US sites, just this year either acquired or had under contract about $1 billion worth of properties.

“The acquisition market has come to a rolling boil with just a plethora of deals hitting the market,” said David Rogers, the CEO of Sovran Self-Storage, which, with 475 sites, is also one of the big four. “The recent low cap environment has enticed the new group of owners to list their properties, or at least entertain discussions to sell them.”