Industry Profile • Section 1
new self-storage facility in just about any of the top metro markets in the U.S. and find one of the REITs or larger com- panies that will successfully manage it—or purchase it out- right. In fact, there are facilities currently being built that are under contract to be purchased by a larger operator at a specified cap rate upon completion and certificate of occupancy. On the contrary, developers need to proceed with caution beyond the top 50 markets, especially where professional management is concerned, since the top op- erators tend to focus only on those larger metro areas.
Unfortunately, while there is plenty of money chasing deals, there is
also a shortage of quality properties available for acquisition.
Bloomberg is not the only organization that is taking
notice of the self-storage sector’s excellent performance and strong returns; institutional investors have also started to track and invest in the industry. Institutional investors, the biggest players in the investment landscape, pool indi- viduals’ money to purchase equities, securities, real estate, and other investments. They are the retirement funds, pen- sion plans, insurance companies, hedge funds, commercial trusts, and endowment funds that seem to have limitless supplies of capital. This attention by institutional investors has led to an
influx of money for the self-storage industry. According to Marc Boorstein, Principal at Chicago-based MJ Partners Real Estate Services, new well-capitalized groups are com- ing to the industry every month wanting to look at self- storage. Why? The returns have been good and there is no sign of a slowdown. Moreover, many institutional investors can utilize their management prowess to make self-storage work as an investment. Unfortunately, while there is plenty of money chasing
deals, there is also a shortage of quality properties avail- able for acquisition. Whereas the number of private equity groups funding private operators is equal to or higher now than those that the industry saw in 2005 and 2006, the cur- rent low supply of inventory and oversupply of capital has made it increasingly difficult for even the REITs and institu- tional investors to close on deals.
Looking At The Numbers The total number of facilities in the U.S. stands at ap- proximately 51,476 with a disproportionately aggressive amount of the growth in the states of Illinois, New York, Florida, California and Texas. It is important to note that un- like the 2014 Almanac, that number denotes a total facility count that includes both primary and secondary facilities. The return to an overall count in the Almanac allows for a
better breakdown of facility growth and related data, including rent- able square footage. Another reason for looking at the industry total as a whole is the
fact that the trend since 2000 has been to build larger facilities. For the 2015 Almanac, we have been able to better refine our data with this trend in mind, thereby equating to an increase in the overall average square footage per facility, which currently stands at an in- dustry total of approximately 2,632,997,400. This shift is addressed in Section 11. Given the acquisitions appetite of the REITs and the institutional
investors, it comes as no surprise that there were significant changes in the 2014 Top Operators’ List compiled by Mini-Storage Messenger magazine (November 2014, page 39). While all of the major operators among the top 10 added inventory
over the past 12 months, it is interesting to see institutional investor W.P. Carey join the list for the first time in the number 10 spot with 157 facilities and more than 9.5 million rentable square feet of stor- age. Listed in the 20th spot in 2012 and moving up to the 13th position in 2013, the William Warren Group is now the 12th largest operator in the U.S. Seeing significant growth this year were long-time top op- erators such as Devon Self Storage, Advantage Storage, and Argus
Table 1.3 – Industry Profile National Data Total Number of Facilities
Average Number of Units per Facility Average Facility Net Square Footage Total Number of Units
Total Rentable Square Footage Average Rentable Square Footage per Person
State Information State with Most Facilities State with Fewest Facilities
State with Most Rentable Square Footage per Person State with Least Rentable Square Footage per Person
MSA Information* Metro Area with Most Facilities
Metro Area with Most Rentable Sq. Footage per Person Market Share**
Largest Self-Storage Company By Number of Facilities
By Rentable Square Footage
Market Share of Top 10 Companies By Number of Facilities
By Rentable Square Footage
Market Share of Top 50 Companies By Number of Facilities
By Rentable Square Footage
Market Share of Top 100 Companies By Number of Facilities
By Rentable Square Footage
* Various MSA have been modified by the US Census Bureau ** Includes international facilities owned by the industry's top operators # Information Not Available
2014
51,475 479
51,150
24.61 million 2.63 billion 8.32
Texas - 6,620
North Dakota - 99 Texas
North Dakota
Dallas, Ft. Worth, Arlington, TX Wichita, KS
Public Storage 4.70 5.80
13.10 16.00
17.10 20.80
18.50 22.50
Source: MiniCo Publishing 2015 Self-Storage Almanac 35
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