Since the pandemic began, rental activity is down, both with move-ins and move-outs. Some tenants will vacate units due to financial constraints over the next several months. As the economy opens back up, self-storage will bounce back as it did after the Great Recession of 2007/2009.
Self-storage had a tremendous amount of growth in recent years in terms of new construction and investor interest. As inventory increased, a growing number of first-time self-storage investors dove into this niche sector. Advantages of self-storage include increased household penetration, strong population growth in the U.S., and the sector’s resilience compared to other asset classes.