Caution reigns as fewer move-outs, not stronger demand, drive year-to-date gains
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Aug. 19, 2026 – Improving occupancy, in-place rents and revenue growth propelled self storage real estate investment trusts to better-than-expected results in Q2 2026 that raise hopes for the sector’s continuing recovery, a new national report from Yardi® Matrix shows.
Weighted-average revenue growth increased 10 basis points from Q1, reaching 0.7%, driven by a 10-basis-point occupancy gain and 0.5% in-place rent growth. And while national advertised rates declined 1.6% year over year in July, half of the Yardi Matrix top 30 metros posted stronger year-over-year rate growth that month than in June.
“While rate growth has yet to meaningfully rebound amid stagnant demand, the outlook is improving as new supply slows,” the report says. Once housing and storage turnover normalize, “higher move-outs will increase exposure to the historically wide gap between move-in and move-out rents, requiring operators to push asking rents more aggressively to limit rent rolldown and support future revenue growth.”
Most public operators believe the sector is in a recovery. But the year-to-date improvement “has been entirely driven by fewer move-outs rather than stronger demand,” the report notes, while the housing slowdown has given rise to tenant stays that may be artificially prolonged and a strategy focused on increasing customer rates.
Get more insight into self storage supply and rent trends in the Yardi Matrix Self Storage National Report for August 2026, which draws from 2,436 self storage properties in various stages of development. Yardi Matrix also maintains operational profiles for 33,221 completed U.S. self storage facilities.
Yardi Matrix offers the industry’s most comprehensive market intelligence tool for investment professionals, equity investors, lenders and property managers who underwrite and manage investments in commercial real estate. Yardi Matrix covers multifamily, single-family rentals in built-to-rent communities, affordable housing, student housing, self storage, office, industrial, retail and vacant land property types. Email [email protected], call (480) 663-1149 or visit yardimatrix.com to learn more.
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