Self Storage Market Trends Show Stabilization In 2025

Self storage rents and supply trends suggest market stabilization in 2025 as demand rebounds and new development slows.

May 20, 2025

National self storage rents declined just 0.4% year-over-year in April 2025, with signs of sequential improvement and strong spring leasing activity.
Chicago led the top 30 US metros with 3.0% annual rent growth, while markets like Austin and San Diego saw steep rent declines.
Construction is slowing, with new supply in April equaling 2.8% of existing inventory, suggesting supply-demand dynamics may rebalance.

Key Takeaways

Industry Stabilizing After Flat Q1

The US self storage sector entered Q2 2025 with a cautiously optimistic outlook following mixed results in Q1, reports Yardi Matrix. Although revenue and NOI were mostly flat—at 0.1% and -1.1% year-over-year—rising rents and seasonal demand suggest momentum is returning. Urban markets like Chicago and New York outperformed, while Sun Belt metros continued to face supply pressures.

Rents Begin To Rebound

National advertised self storage rents fell just 0.4% in April, improving from prior months. Notably, rates rose month-over-month by 0.7%, with gains in 27 of the top 30 metros. Chicago (+3.0%), Tampa (+2.8%), and Washington DC (+2.5%) were top performers, driven by constrained supply and strong multifamily demand.

Bar chart showing April 2025 year-over-year rent changes for non-climate and climate-controlled self storage units across top US metros.

Table listing March and April 2025 average street rates per square foot by metro, including percentage change.

Line graph displaying national average street rates per square foot for climate and non-climate-controlled units from March 2023 to May 2025.

Supply Growth Slows

New self storage construction has decelerated. Only 2.8% of national inventory was under construction in April—down 10 basis points from March. The pipeline is shrinking, with projected supply falling to 2.3% of stock in 2026 and 2.0% in 2027. Charleston saw the largest month-over-month spike, increasing its construction activity by 0.8%.

Bar chart and table showing net rentable square footage delivered over the past 36 and 12 months by metro and corresponding rent growth.

Bar chart of under-construction self storage supply by metro as a percentage of existing inventory for March and April 2025.

Market Performance Diverges

Markets like San Diego (-3.1%), Austin (-2.9%), and Dallas–Fort Worth (-2.5%) posted the largest self storage rent drops, coinciding with elevated new supply. Meanwhile, Chicago, with only 0.9% of self storage inventory delivered over the last year, benefited from a more balanced market, multifamily rent growth, and low storage competition.

Bubble chart mapping self storage supply pipelines and growth indicators across major U.S. metros, with color-coded rent change performance.

Outlook

REITs are more aggressively raising rents than their non-REIT peers, especially in smaller markets. While challenges remain in oversupplied regions, trends point to a possible return to normalized performance by late 2025. Developers are taking a more cautious approach, which could further support rent stabilization.