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- Nationally, self storage street rates decreased 3.6% year-over-year in August 2024, reaching almost two years of continuous month-over-month decline.
- Port St. Lucie, FL, Yonkers, NY, and Aurora, IL, registered rent drops in the double digits.
- Detroit, MI, Arlington, VA, and Jersey City, NJ, came on top for self storage increases, among a couple of other cities.
- Self storage construction is expected to carry on in over half of the 150 largest cities, with Texas cities stealing the spotlight for forecasted construction.
Self storage has entered the 23rd month of consecutive price drops in August 2024, standing at 3.6% year-over-year. On a month-by-month basis, rates experienced a slight decrease of 0.7%, pointing to a more stabilized market.
Summer typically sees increased activity in the self storage market but this year bucked the trend. A combination of factors, including slower migration patterns, a challenging housing market and already high existing inventories, led to more modest consumer demand. This shift in market dynamics resulted in lower rental rates across many regions.
Meanwhile, the industry’s rapid development added to this shift, creating a market that favors renters with more options. This trend shows no signs of slowing — over half of the 150 largest cities are slated for significant inventory growth in 2024. In fact, new storage space across the U.S. is expected to exceed 59 million square feet this year.
Self storage rents drop in the double digits across three cities
In three cities, self storage rate drops were in the double digits year-over-year. Port St. Lucie, FL, comes first with a 20.8% annual rent decline. This brought a Port St. Lucie unit to $125/month in August 2024, while a square foot of self storage called for $1.10 in the same period.
In second place comes Yonkers, NY, with a street rate plunge of 15.7% year-over-year. Yonkers storage goes for an average of $190/month for all unit sizes. Per-square-foot rates hover around $2.3/month, based on August 2024 rates. To help make up for the low existing inventory related to population — standing at 2 sq. ft./capita — local developers are planning on adding close to 152K square feet of self storage space in 2024.
Aurora, IL, takes the third podium spot, registering a price drop of 12.3% y-o-y in August 2024. An Aurora storage unit rented for $102/month, while rent for a square foot of self storage stood at $0.90. The city lost 9.7% of its population in the past five years, which means there was decreased demand for self storage — helping to bring down current rates. No new construction is scheduled for 2024 in Aurora.
In the South, several cities also experienced self storage rent decreases. In Huntsville, AL, rates went down 9.9% y-o-y, bringing a Huntsville unit to $97/month and a square foot of self storage to $0.70/month. The city is well-supplied relative to the number of residents, sporting 10.9 sq. ft./person. However, with population swelling by an impressive 13% in the past five years, the city is bound to keep up construction in 2024 as close to 364K square feet of self storage are expected to come online. Huntsville also saw new construction in 2022 and 2023, a testament to the continuous demand for the service.
In Texas, San Antonio is also following the footsteps of other cities in the region where prices for self storage went down, at an 8.1% annual rate. The city is one of the best-supplied cities in the country, boasting a total inventory of over 17M square feet. This translates to 9 sq. ft./capita, indicating a well-supplied market. An impressive 828K square feet of self storage are expected to be further added to the market in 2024. A San Antonio unit averaged $124/month and a square foot of self storage hovered at $1/month for August 2024.
Lower supply powers self storage price growth in some cities
The Midwest leads increases with Detroit, MI, seeing the highest street rate jump. A Detroit storage unit rented for $210/month, a 7.9% growth rate year-over-year. The city is heavily undersupplied, with only 1.2 sq. ft./capita. To make up for the low inventory, the sector is expected to see the addition of 36K square feet of self storage in 2024.
The second city in the Midwest to subscribe to the price growth trend is Sioux Falls, SD, with a 2.9% annual rent increase. Sioux Falls storage averaged $111/month for all storage unit sizes, while a square foot rented for $0.9/month in August 2024. The city witnessed a whopping 13.5% population hike in the last five years, which kept demand for self storage above the current supply level — roughly 7.7 square feet per capita. With no new supply scheduled for delivery in 2024, the existing pressure on the market will likely further support rent growth in Sioux Falls.
The second- and third-highest self storage price hikes were registered on the East Coast. Arlington, VA, scored a price increase of 6.4% year-over-year. This translated to an Arlington unit renting for $266/month, while a square foot of storage went for $2.6/month. The city’s low supply when we account for population — 1.2 sq. ft./resident — coupled with a 2.7% population increase from 2017 to 2022 drove rate increases in the area.
Up north, Jersey City, NJ, experienced a 6.2% annual surge in self storage rents, bringing a Jersey City unit to $202/month. The city has had the proper context to see continuous demand, which helped to stimulate rent increases. While the city’s self storage inventory stands at a meager 1.3 sq. ft./capita, local population went up by 8.3% in the past five years. As such, local inventory has been struggling to keep pace with demand, which prompted the higher current rents. However, no new deliveries are scheduled for 2024.
On the opposite coast, three California cities are also claiming the spotlight for street rate increases. Oceanside (5.4%) had the highest increase, followed by Garden Grove and San Francisco, which had similar growth rates at over 2% y-o-y. All three cities are severely undersupplied, with Garden Grove registering the lowest inventory relative to population at 0.4 sq. ft./capita. However, in all three cities, the self storage sector is currently registering no construction activity for 2024. Rates for a San Francisco unit stand at $243/month, while Oceanside storage comes down to $185/month, based on August 2024 rates. A Garden Grove storage unit averages the lowest rent of three cities, at $143/month.
Self storage construction still going strong in Texas
Texas continues to be a key player in the self storage market, with several cities standing out for their construction potential in 2024. San Antonio is expected to see a remarkable 828,000 square feet of self storage added to the local pipeline in 2024. That’s more than double 2023’s construction level. As self storage rents are on a downward trajectory and inventory is plentiful, new construction is likely to temper in the future.
Top Cities for 2024 Expected Construction
# | City | 2024 Projected New Supply (sq. ft.) | 2024 New Supply as % of Inventory | Current Sq. Ft. per Capita |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | San Antonio, TX | 828,308 | 5% | 9.0 |
2 | Houston, TX | 732,006 | 3% | 6.8 |
3 | Fort Worth, TX | 559,500 | 6% | 6.2 |
4 | Orlando, FL | 537,768 | 6% | 7.1 |
5 | Tucson, AZ | 431,400 | 6% | 8.6 |
6 | Philadelphia, PA | 423,493 | 6% | 3.3 |
7 | Jacksonville, FL | 389,803 | 4% | 9.5 |
8 | Phoenix, AZ | 384,944 | 4% | 5.5 |
9 | Las Vegas, NV | 372,401 | 3% | 7.5 |
10 | Huntsville, AL | 363,657 | 13% | 10.9 |
11 | Reno, NV | 329,742 | 6% | 14.5 |
12 | San Diego, CA | 289,027 | 4% | 4.1 |
13 | Seattle, WA | 264,595 | 7% | 4.0 |
14 | Little Rock, AR | 263,738 | 8% | 12.5 |
15 | Corpus Christi, TX | 245,333 | 6% | 12.3 |
16 | Fayetteville, NC | 244,950 | 8% | 12.0 |
17 | Oklahoma City, OK | 227,979 | 3% | 8.4 |
18 | Greensboro, NC | 226,132 | 6% | 10.9 |
19 | McKinney, TX | 215,568 | 7% | 8.3 |
20 | Atlanta, GA | 207,891 | 4% | 4.5 |
21 | Garland, TX | 194,996 | 9% | 3.8 |
22 | Austin, TX | 191,277 | 2% | 8.0 |
23 | Baton Rouge, LA | 184,582 | 4% | 11.0 |
24 | Miami, FL | 175,889 | 2% | 3.8 |
25 | Lubbock, TX | 175,477 | 4% | 16.6 |
26 | Los Angeles, CA | 169,977 | 2% | 1.8 |
27 | Newark, NJ | 169,296 | 21% | 0.9 |
28 | Mobile, AL | 160,200 | 5% | 10.9 |
29 | Albuquerque, NM | 159,823 | 3% | 7.7 |
30 | Yonkers, NY | 151,785 | 15% | 2.0 |
31 | Henderson, NV | 150,565 | 4% | 6.5 |
32 | Memphis, TN | 149,809 | 2% | 8.1 |
33 | Anaheim, CA | 147,390 | 9% | 1.6 |
34 | Nashville, TN | 145,467 | 4% | 6.6 |
35 | Cincinnati, OH | 142,486 | 4% | 4.0 |
36 | Indianapolis, IN | 134,289 | 2% | 6.9 |
37 | Cleveland, OH | 131,305 | 7% | 2.3 |
38 | El Paso, TX | 125,753 | 3% | 6.1 |
39 | Chandler, AZ | 124,109 | 6% | 4.5 |
40 | San Bernardino, CA | 122,173 | 8% | 3.4 |
41 | Dallas, TX | 119,443 | 1% | 5.2 |
42 | Birmingham, AL | 118,199 | 3% | 7.3 |
43 | San Jose, CA | 114,384 | 2% | 3.9 |
44 | Durham, NC | 114,000 | 4% | 9.0 |
45 | Tallahassee, FL | 109,311 | 4% | 10.9 |
46 | Santa Clarita, CA | 108,159 | 11% | 4.4 |
47 | Fort Wayne, IN | 107,945 | 5% | 7.0 |
48 | Louisville, KY | 102,550 | 2% | 7.6 |
49 | Arlington, TX | 101,250 | 3% | 5.8 |
50 | Rochester, NY | 100,415 | 6% | 3.5 |
51 | Peoria, AZ | 95,067 | 5% | 4.3 |
52 | Richmond, VA | 93,951 | 2% | 5.8 |
53 | Vancouver, WA | 92,670 | 3% | 8.2 |
54 | Honolulu, HI | 91,190 | 7% | 3.2 |
55 | Colorado Springs, CO | 90,567 | 1% | 11.0 |
56 | Augusta, GA | 87,851 | 4% | 9.4 |
57 | Mesa, AZ | 87,403 | 2% | 5.8 |
58 | Milwaukee, WI | 86,946 | 3% | 3.7 |
59 | Charlotte, NC | 85,387 | 1% | 7.1 |
60 | Hialeah, FL | 85,106 | 8% | 2.1 |
61 | Stockton, CA | 81,600 | 3% | 6.5 |
62 | North Las Vegas, NV | 78,000 | 3% | 4.5 |
63 | Minneapolis, MN | 77,595 | 4% | 2.0 |
64 | Chicago, IL | 77,216 | 1% | 3.3 |
65 | Baltimore, MD | 77,130 | 2% | 3.8 |
66 | Akron, OH | 75,455 | 4% | 4.9 |
67 | Pittsburgh, PA | 75,000 | 2% | 3.5 |
68 | Santa Rosa, CA | 73,946 | 4% | 7.9 |
69 | Columbus, OH | 73,657 | 1% | 4.4 |
70 | Newport News, VA | 73,109 | 5% | 6.3 |
71 | Kansas City, MO | 72,998 | 2% | 3.7 |
72 | Knoxville, TN | 71,313 | 2% | 9.7 |
73 | Scottsdale, AZ | 64,475 | 2% | 8.2 |
74 | Tampa, FL | 63,510 | 1% | 6.9 |
75 | Wichita, KS | 62,951 | 2% | 6.7 |
76 | Virginia Beach, VA | 59,424 | 1% | 10.7 |
77 | Cape Coral, FL | 57,222 | 3% | 7.7 |
78 | Chattanooga, TN | 49,500 | 2% | 8.1 |
79 | Raleigh, NC | 39,561 | 1% | 7.3 |
80 | Detroit, MI | 35,549 | 3% | 1.2 |
81 | Lincoln, NE | 24,415 | 1% | 6.4 |
RentCafe analysis of Yardi Matrix data
* Forecasted construction (%) for 2024 as a percentage of the total existing inventory at the end of 2023
On the other hand, Houston and Fort Worth have lower inventories while experiencing population increases. This trend is particularly prevalent in Fort Worth, where the number of residents went up by 11% in the last five years. This bumped up construction in both cities, with Houston expecting to see about 732,000 square feet of self storage delivered in 2024. About 560,000 square feet of self storage are scheduled for construction in Fort Worth this year.
Outside of Texas, cities in other states that are on the receiving end of high moving activity are also forecasted to have active construction markets in 2024, with Orlando, Tucson and Phoenix as some prime examples.
Check out how the 150 largest cities fare in terms of self storage rent changes below:
Methodology
This analysis was done by RentCafe Self Storage, an online platform that provides apartment and storage unit listings nationwide.
This report considers self storage rents and forecasted construction for 2024 based on August 2024 data.
The report features the 150 most populous cities that have a self storage inventory of a minimum of 10 units. The self storage street rate is calculated as the weighted averages of the street rates for all storage unit sizes, non-climate-controlled and climate-controlled units included.
For data on population changes, we turned to the U.S. Census (2017–2022 dataset).
Data on self storage street rates, deliveries and 2024 forecasted construction activity came from our sister division Yardi Matrix, a business development and asset management tool for brokers, sponsors, banks and equity sources underwriting investments in the multifamily, office, industrial and self storage sectors.
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Mirela is a real estate writer and lifestyle editor for Yardi. With an academic background in English and translation, Mirela now covers a range of topics including real estate trends, lifestyle and economy. Her previous experience in proofreading academic articles has inspired Mirela to choose a writing career path. In her free time, Mirela enjoys reading, but also hiking and creating art. You can contact Mirela via email.
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