BBG's hometown of Dallas leads the way in construction, with CBRE recently projecting that the metro area would see a total of 49 projects and 9.02 million square feet set delivered in '17. That pace of construction has led to the specter of overbuilding, CBRE reported this past October: the metro went from 1.57 square feet/person oversupplied to 2.81 square feet/person oversupplied. It's also ranked third among metro areas in terms of new construction as a percentage of total supply.

Nationally, though, CBRE sees self-storage supply and demand metrics as generally in equilibrium. Brokerage firm Argus Self-Storage Advisors says that the two-year period from '17 to '18 will see the delivery of meaningful new supply in almost every major market. “This will undoubtedly influence the submarket fundamentals where these new properties are being developed,” Ben Vestal, president of the Aurora, CO-based brokerage firm, wrote recently.

It's no surprise, Vestal added, that the markets seeing the largest amount of new development are those that have enjoyed “tremendous population and job growth” over the past two to four years. Along with Dallas, markets such as Denver, Austin, Portland, Atlanta, San Jose, Tampa and Orlando “are all seeing a tremendous amount of new product being developed,” wrote Vestal.

BBG notes that the boom in self-storage development can be attributed to a growing trend of storing household items in these facilities rather than cluttering up their garages or basements. Additionally, the widespread devastation caused by the back-to-back hurricanes Harvey and Irma last summer has also helped spur self-storage construction, as consumers felt their valuables would be less prone to weather-related damage in these facilities.

The firm also cites new designs and other features, such as climate-controlled units and locations near shopping areas and multifamily neighborhoods, that are making self-storage facilities more appealing to consumers. There's also a trend toward storage facilities for high-end items, such as luxury cars and expensive wines. Some of these high-end facilities offer automated retrieval systems, in which robots locate renters' vaults and deliver their belongings to a private room at the facility.

Vestal used the phrase “cautiously optimistic” to describe the sector's outlook for this year. “As the US economy continues to accelerate slightly and new self-storage supply continues to come on line, the self-storage sector should hold strong,” he wrote.