Self-storage thrives on the 4 D’s: death, disaster, displacement and divorce. All of these predicaments have been encouraged by the pandemic. As a result, self-storage is one area of commercial real estate that has grown during Covid-19.
Investor interest in self-storage is strong. However, the number of newly created facilities will drop by approximately 10% in 2020 – this is a result of Covid-19 induced construction delays, permit delays, and financing delays. This is okay for the industry as a whole, as oversupply was a concern.
Uncertainty still lies ahead for self-storage. Another lockdown can impact storage rental rates. However, demand has remained in the face of the unknown created by the pandemic.