April 2026 Self Storage Investing Newsletter

Some people describe any new investor in self-storage as a "newbie" – a term that I find offensive and irrelevant. In this Self-Storage University podcast we’re going to review the many reasons why the word "newbie" should never be used.

Self-storage works best in areas that are growing at a rapid pace. These are markets where people are moving in, moving out, changing households, and needing somewhere to store their belongings. So logically, the best markets for self-storage are often the states with the highest population growth. Based on the latest U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 population estimates, these are the top six states for 2026. The U.S. population as a whole grew by only 0.5% from July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025, so any state growing materially faster than that stands out.

Self-Storage has had the second worst performance in U.S. commercial real estate, with the average property down 22% in value since 2021 – exceeded only by office buildings, which are down 35%. In this Self-Storage University podcast we’re going to review how some storage properties and owners got things so wrong and the lessons learned from their failure.

In 2017, many investors still thought in simple terms: use your own cash, close on one facility, then refinance or sell before buying again. That still works, but it’s a slow way to grow. Investors who want to build a real portfolio usually need outside capital, and today there are more lawful ways to do that than there used to be.

To succeed in self-storage investing, watch what everyone else is doing and do the opposite. Most of what you see in the storage business today is wrong. It is doomed. Do you think the multi-story urban storage units that nobody really wants is viable long term? Vacancy and rent problems are baked in. However, the old school, single-story, pull your car up to a roll-up door kind of storage, properly placed in the suburbs, exurbs, or super commuter neighborhoods – those are the ones that actually work.