The self-storage market is looking at an active year ahead, according to Hunter Thompson, CEO of Cash Flow Connections. His company has acquired approximately $25 million in self-storage product this year, and next year, he expects to nearly double his volume. To find out more about this investment niche and how new trends—like on-demand service—are reshaping the industry, we sat down with Thompson for an exclusive interview.

GlobeSt.com: Tell me about your investment strategy this year.

Hunter Thompson: Obviously, real estate is localized, so each opportunity has its own thesis. While it is important to look at the big picture, overall each property is judged on its own basis. Going into 2017, we wanted to take advantage of the fact that there was a tremendous amount of self-storage supply between 2005-2007. There was a lot of gross square footage that was dumped onto the market, and because of this, there are a lot of inexperienced managers in these properties. From my perspective, the best way to take advantage of this cycle is to buy properties based on in-place income and implement new management strategies. These operators don't understand the complexities of the business, and there are so many ways to add value to the property. Because the tenant base is not price sensitive and because they are on 30-day leases, you can implement these strategies quickly and effectively. You can change a property's profile quickly.