Yardi Matrix: U.S. self storage investment outlook brightens

The U.S. self storage industry remains an attractive investment opportunity as 2026 beckons, Yardi Matrix research reveals, even as year-over-year advertised rent growth continues to slow.

Written by Joel Nelson

12 / 22 / 25

1 min read

The U.S. self storage industry enjoys an encouraging investment outlook, as the 2025 year-to-date transaction volume exceeded the total for 2024 by November. This offers a clear signal of “renewed investment interest in the sector,” according to Yardi Matrix, with “a healthy, engaged buyer pool and sustained conviction in self storage as an attractive investment opportunity.”

“Challenging imbalance” remains

Meanwhile, year-over-year advertised rents rose 0.6% in November, continuing an upward trend but lower than the 0.7% and 0.8% growth levels recorded in October and September, respectively.

“The storage market continues to face a challenging imbalance between supply and demand,” Yardi Matrix notes, caught between steady under-construction inventory and weak demand fundamentals such as sluggish housing turnover, uneven consumer spending and economic headwinds. “This combination of elevated supply and subdued demand is likely to keep rent growth constrained in the near term.”

Get more insights into the self storage investment outlook along with updates on street rates, supply and demand across 30 top U.S. metros in the Yardi Matrix National Self Storage Report for December 2025.

AUTHOR

Joel Nelson, senior marketing writer, joined Yardi in 2007. His byline has appeared in New York Real Estate Journal, Canadian Property Management and Los Angeles Lawyer, among others. He has won multiple awards from major professional organizations including the International Association of Business Communicators and Public Communicators of Los Angeles. Joel earned a bachelor’s degree from Pomona College.

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