While the number of self-storage real estate transactions barely budged last year, the total amount of money changing hands skyrocketed, hitting nearly $5 billion as investors aggressively pursued larger facilities and portfolio acquisitions.
Total self-storage transaction volume jumped 39% year over year in 2025, according to a report released this month by StorageCafe, analyzing data from parent company Yardi Matrix.
The data shows that while independent operators still drive the majority of individual deals, deep-pocketed real estate investment trusts (REITs) are heavily shaping the market’s pricing landscape, paying notable premiums for high-quality assets in Sun Belt growth hubs and densely packed coastal cities, where property values remain astronomical.
According to the StorageCafe analysis, the number of transactions increased by just 1% from 2024 to 2025. However, the total square footage traded grew 13% and the average sale price per square foot climbed 12%.
Non-REIT buyers — often traditional mom-and-pop operators or smaller investment firms — comprised 82% of the acquisitions in 2025, paying an average of $111 per square foot, the Yardi Matrix data shows.
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REITs, in contrast, represented only 18% of buyers, but this segment was open to paying a higher premium, with an average of $153 per square foot. Major institutional players driving these premium acquisitions included Public Storage, Extra Space Storage, CubeSmart and National Storage Affiliates, according to the report.
Geographically, investment capital heavily favored regions with strong population growth and rapid housing turnover. Florida led the nation by a wide margin, recording nearly $770 million in self-storage sales across 91 transactions, according to StorageCafe. California followed with roughly $614 million across 70 deals, and Georgia secured the third spot with $359 million traded.
At the municipal level, Las Vegas claimed the title of the most active self-storage market in 2025. The city saw $175 million in transactions encompassing about 1.1 million square feet of space. StorageCafe noted that Las Vegas investors successfully secured larger facilities in a market where constant population churn keeps demand high.
New York City ranked second overall with $140 million in transactions, but it easily commanded the highest valuations in the country. Driven by extreme land scarcity and a supply shortage — New York City has just 2.4 square feet of storage per capita compared to the national benchmark of 7 square feet — the city’s average sale price reached a staggering $533 per square foot.
Storage Post was the dominant player in this market, acquiring a $110 million portfolio in July 2025 that included major facilities in Manhattan and Brooklyn, according to the transaction data.
