For those in the market to buy a self-storage facility or develop a new property, you must combine an informed shopping experience with reliable market intelligence. Thats a lot of brain work. Fortunately, there are some really smart people constantly gathering data on industry trends and performance and compiling it into reports so you dont have to do all the legwork.

Teri Lanza

August 10, 2012

4 Min Read
Self-Storage Performance Data at the Ready, Just Grab and Go

A guest installment by ISS Online Content Editor Tony Jones

Tony Jones***Im a pretty typical male shopper. Dont tell my wife this, but Im not all that fond of long trips to the mall. I like to do my research ahead of time, make an informed decision in the privacy of my mind, and then make a targeted and deliberate purchase. Boom. Done.

It doesnt really matter what Im after. Whether its a new car, new music or a pair of pants, I typically like to know what Im going to buy before I ever get to a retail destination. The same goes for acquiring professional knowledge. Wading through a lot of marketing blather about material that can actually impact your business in a meaningful way can be a daunting and arduous process.

For those in the market to buy a self-storage facility or develop a new property, you must combine an informed shopping experience with reliable market intelligence. Thats a lot of brain work. Fortunately, there are some really smart people constantly gathering data on self-storage market trends and facility performance and compiling it into reports on your behalf so you dont have to do all the legwork.

Moreover, these reports are already at your fingertips in the Inside Self-Storage Store. The most comprehensive of these are the Self-Storage Performance Quarterly Reports (SSPQ) prepared by Cushman & Wakefield and Self Storage Data Services (SSDS). If youre not familiar with them, the SSPQ reports include data for supply, demand, rents, occupancy, concessions, new construction and move-in/move-outs based on data collected from thousands of U.S. self-storage facilities. Each quarterly report includes an executive summary; supply and demand figures, including new construction and geographical trends; investment markets; real estate investment trust performance data; and operating performance data from a national, regional and metropolitan-statistical-area (MSA) perspective.

The SSPQ reports are ideal for real estate investment trusts, large self-storage operators and industry analysts, including security analysts, lenders with a large concentration in the self-storage sector, and others who monitor industry-performance metrics. We recently added the second-quarter 2012 report to the stores inventory.

But heres the deal: Self-storage investors and owners of large storage operations are running out of time to take advantage of special introductory rates to purchase the SSPQ reports. Currently, the reports are available exclusively through the ISS Store at a 44 percent discount for annual subscriptions and a 34 percent savings for individual reports. Beginning Sept. 1, the price for SSPQ annual subscriptions will increase from $3,800 to $5,800, and the price for individual quarterly reports will increase from $1,000 to $1,800. The cost of a full, four-issue annual subscription will still provide a 20 percent discount off of individual report purchases, but opportunity to capture the best value will disappear in three weeks.

If youve been hedging about purchasing an SSPQ report but know that you could really use the data to make smarter self-storage investment decisions, now is the time to act. If youre not sure if the data is right for you, I encourage you to examine our downloadable sample.

As mentioned, the SSPQ reports are extensive and provide a national overview of self-storage facility performance. If you need data for only a specific metro area, we recently added second-quarter self-storage reports for each of the 50 MSAs tracked by SSDS. The company's statistics come from 7,000 self-storage facilities (of 17,000 facilities in the top 50 MSAs), tracked every 90 days. SSDS tracks more than 1 million storage units monthly. The MSA reports are priced at a very friendly $100.

Still too wide a scope? Then why not have Cushman & Wakefield create a customized report examining self-storage data from a three-mile radius around a specific property or facility address? A custom Self-Storage Trade Area Snapshot Report, delivered to you on demand for $100, includes income, occupancy, supply, rental rates and concessions from self-storage facilities tracked inside the radial circle surrounding the property address you submit.

So there you go. If youre in the market for some incredible self-storage data, I hope this helps clarify what is available to you through the ISS Store and simplifies the shopping process. No need to browse endlessly. Just walk right in and grab what you need. Boom. Done.

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