Self Storage Market Outlook – August 2026

Key takeaways

• The U.S. average advertised asking rate per square foot fell 0.1 percent through July to $16.47 for the combined mix of units and sizes.
• Year-over-year, rates for both non-climate- and climate-controlled units saw negative growth in 26 of the Top 30 metros.
• The national under-construction pipeline contracted 10 basis points month-over-month, clocking in at 2.1 percent of total stock, amounting to a total of 44.1 million net rentable square feet under development.
• Orlando, Fla. stole Sarasota-Cape Coral’s spot, ranking second among the Top 30 metros list in terms of under-construction supply from existing inventory, only trailing Phoenix.

Rates decline, occupancy registers strong levels

Through July, the national average annualized asking rate per square foot contracted 10 basis points month-over-month to $16.47 for the combined mix of units and sizes.

Out of the Top 30 metros tracked by Yardi Matrix, 11 registered positive movement in terms of advertised asking rate through July, while 18 saw negative growth. Phoenix was the only metro with an unchanged figure from the previous month, clocking in at $15.14 per square foot.

Year-over-year, rates for non-climate-controlled units fell 1.4 percent across 26 out of the Top 30 metros. The same metric for climate-controlled units declined 1.8 percent compared to July 2025, in 26 of the Top 30 metros as well.

Meanwhile, self storage REITs registered improved occupancy levels across the sector in the second quarter of this year, with a net move-in/move-out activity reaching 1.6 percent of units—the strongest level in the last five years.

National pipeline contracts slightly

July saw 2,436 self storage properties in all stages of development nationwide, out of which 595 properties were under construction, accounting for 2.1 percent of total stock—marking a slight 10-basis-point contracting since June. The pipeline also include 1,537 planned and 304 prospective projects.

During the same month, there were a total of 44.1 million net rentable square feet under construction, down 0.4 percent compared to July 2026. Out of the top 30 metros list tracked by Yardi Matrix, seven saw positive movement month-over-month in terms of development, namely Orlando, Fla., New York suburbs, Philadelphia, the Inland Empire, Dallas-Fort Worth, Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area. 14 metros on the same list registered negative growth and nine had unchanged values compared to the previous month.

Phoenix continued to rank at the top of the list in terms of under-construction supply, even though its metrics saw negative growth month-over-month, dropping 40 basis points through July to 6.6 percent. Second on that list was Orlando, Fla.—stealing Sarasota-Cape Coral’s spot—which saw a 0.1 percent uptick through July to 5.1 percent of under-construction supply from existing stock.

Read the full Yardi Matrix National Self Storage Market Outlook: August 2026.