Inside Self-Storage recently a published the article, "Is Self-Storage Now a Consolidation Nation? Real Estate Experts Discuss the Acquisition Trend," in which professionals discussed the purchasing prowess of the self-storage real estate investment trusts, how it affects independent facility operators, and their predictions for the years ahead. To learn more about the topic from an operational perspective, ISS conducted a survey to see what self-storage owners and managers think about REIT acquisitions in their markets.

Following is sampling of data and comments from smaller, independent self-storage enterprises. Survey respondents were 44 percent facility owners and 56 percent facility managers.

We also included some personal feedback from the REITs themselves (see the bottom of this page). For information about REIT purchases, sales, financial reports and third-party services, visit the ISS "Real Estate Investment Trust" topics page. There you'll find hundreds of free articles pertaining to CubeSmart, Extra Space Storage, Sovran Self Storage (Uncle Bob's) and Public Storage Inc.

How many self-storage facilities do you own/manage?

How many REIT facilities do you compete with directly in your market?

Are you concerned that your facility or one of your independent competitors facilities will be bought by a REIT in the next two years?

Would you ever consider selling to a REIT?

What are your thoughts on industry consolidation?

What the REITs Have to Say

Good or badconsolidation is accelerating. The economies of scale, the impact of the Internet and the marketing channels for customer acquisition justify increased scale. Its an evolution.
~David Doll, senior vice president and president, real estate group, Public Storage Inc.

Industry consolidation under the large brands is raising the profile of self-storage for consumers while bringing pricing discipline to the marketplace. It is also resulting in a more robust service offering for customers, as the large operators are more equipped to innovate. CubeSmarts superstore service model is an example of this.
~Chris Marr, president, chief operating officer and chief investment officer, CubeSmart

"Were seeing the larger operators, meaning the national and publicly traded REITs, taking the marketshare from smaller, less sophisticated operators. So that, combined with virtually no new supply coming into market, bodes well for a larger, more sophisticated platform. Youll continue to see increased consolidation in the months and years to come."
~Clint Halverson, Vice President, Corporate Communication and Investor Relations, Extra Space Storage Inc.