Self-storage investment activity in 2025 showed a sharp divergence between the number of trades and the capital committed, with dollar volume rising significantly even as deal counts only inched higher. According to Yardi’s StorageCafe, transaction values increased 39% year-over-year to nearly $5 billion. The data indicates that investors were willing to pay more per property, pushing both average pricing and average deal size higher than in the prior year.
StorageCafe reported that the average price per square foot for self-storage assets grew 12% year-over-year. At the same time, the average total square footage per transaction rose 13%. Taken together, these metrics suggest that buyers targeted larger facilities and accepted higher valuations on a per-square-foot basis, contributing to the outsized growth in overall dollar volume relative to the modest change in transaction count.
The report also underscored the market’s ownership structure, noting that self-storage remains heavily supported by smaller operators and independent owners. Anca Lenta of StorageCafe described these “mom-and-pop” facilities as the backbone of the industry, reflecting the large share of properties owned by local and regional players. Despite this fragmentation, institutional capital continues to exert meaningful influence on pricing and transaction dynamics.
Institutional investors, particularly real estate investment trusts (REITs), played a notable role in 2025 activity. REITs accounted for 18% of all self-storage transactions tracked by StorageCafe, a share that helps set benchmarks for valuation and deal terms across the segment. Their participation supports price discovery and signals ongoing institutional interest in the asset class, even as many properties remain in the hands of smaller owners.
On a market level, Las Vegas emerged as the top location for self-storage investment sales during the period, with approximately $175 million in completed deals. That volume was about 25% higher than second-place New York City and nearly three times the activity recorded in third-ranked Murfreesboro, TN. Additional leading markets included Orlando; Walnut Creek, CA; Seattle; Atlanta; Houston; Clifton, NJ; and Lawrenceville, GA, highlighting a geographically diverse buyer pool.
The data paints a picture of a sector where capital is increasingly concentrated in larger, higher-priced trades, yet ownership remains broadly distributed across smaller operators. A CubeSmart facility in Lakeland, FL, was cited as an example of the type of modern self-storage property attracting investor attention, underscoring continued interest in professionally branded assets within a still-fragmented landscape.
