Storage Monitor: A Look at Rising Prices in Self-Storage’s Hottest Markets
The leasing season is in full swing, with average national rates for storage trending upward after months of decline.
From May to June, the average price of a self-storage unit grew by 1.8% to a total of $98.46 a month. Prices still lag last year’s rates by a considerable margin, with the May 2022 average rate standing at $111.31 per month. That’s a month-to-month increase of 3%. On a year-to-year basis, the average monthly storage rate was down 12.1% in May.
Based on that performance, the industry is not on track to top last year’s performance on a national level. But looking at the recent performance of SpareFoot’s Top 200 markets, many metros are well on their way to topping 2022. In this edition of the Storage Monitor we take a look at the hottest markets in self-storage right now.
Let’s get into the numbers, shall we?
Biggest Month-to-Month to Growth
A majority of markets (55.5%) in the Top 200 experienced rate growth from April to May, while the rest saw rates deteriorate further. Below we’ll take a closer look at those markets that are leading the pack when it comes to month-to-month rate growth.
1. Ann Arbor
Home to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor saw average self-storage rates jump a whopping 47.42% from April to May. As a major college town, a large spike at this time of year comes as no surprise. However, the growth is much faster than it has been in recent years.
The average rate in May was $97.84, up 78 basis points from the previous year. That places it among 34 other markets that saw positive rate growth during that time frame.
2. Lansing
Another major Michigan college town also experienced outsized growth, making the two locales not just rivals when it comes to football, but self-storage performance as well. Demand from Michigan State helped Lansing storage operators achieve rate growth of 41.13%, the market’s biggest rate jump in recent history. Still, May’s average rate of $71.24 a month fell behind last year’s price by 4.84%.
Check out the following chart for the rest of the top 10:
| Market | Avg. Price May 2023 | Month-to-month change | Year-over-year change |
| Ann Arbor, MI | $97.84 | 47.42% | 0.78% |
| Lansing, MI | $71.24 | 41.13% | -4.84% |
| College Station, TX | $100.77 | 35.32% | -7.62% |
| Scottsdale, AZ | $151.70 | 34.85% | 32.34% |
| Spring, TX | $103.03 | 30.68% | 0.44% |
| North Highlands, CA | $103.33 | 29.47% | 9.82% |
| Washington, DC | $80.89 | 29.16% | 4.04% |
| Killeen, TX | $114.51 | 27.44% | 4.55% |
| San Francisco, CA | $169.97 | 29.96% | -13.06% |
| Austin, TX | $105.35 | 24.48% | 2.52% |
Biggest Year-over-Year Gainers
In the previous chart you might have noticed Scottsdale’s impressive year-over-year rate growth of more than 32%. The performance makes the desert city east of Phoenix the country’s top city for rent growth in May compared to 2022, bucking the nationwide trend of -12% growth.
That feat was only repeated by about 15% of markets in the Top 200, with the rest experiencing negative Y-o-Y growth in May. See the chart below to see where storage rates have popped off the most this leasing season:
|
Market |
Avg. Rate May 2023 |
Y-o-Y change |
| SCOTTSDALE AZ | $151.70 | 32.34% |
| CARSON CA | $163.41 | 31.69% |
| LUBBOCK TX | $71.47 | 28.25% |
| HIALEAH FL | $193.06 | 24.57% |
| MORGAN HILL CA | $182.74 | 16.67% |
| BOSTON MA | $167.93 | 16.50% |
| OAKLAND CA | $116.50 | 12.54% |
| TOLEDO OH | $86.39 | 11.89% |
| LONG ISLAND CITY NY | $94.91 | 10.71% |
| PITTSBURGH PA | $109.42 | 9.95% |
| NORTH HIGHLANDS CA | $103.33 | 9.82% |
| SAVANNAH GA | $156.58 | 8.69% |
| SANTA ANA CA | $129.96 | 8.07% |
| ONTARIO CA | $152.31 | 6.28% |
| JACKSON MS | $86.10 | 6.14% |
| ALBUQUERQUE NM | $89.33 | 6.01% |
| FORT LAUDERDALE FL | $110.57 | 5.14% |
| ARLINGTON TX | $94.22 | 4.91% |
| KILLEEN TX | $114.51 | 4.55% |
| VAN NUYS CA | $148.51 | 4.31% |
| WASHINGTON DC | $80.89 | 4.04% |
| NASHVILLE TN | $110.33 | 3.60% |
| NEW YORK NY | $109.92 | 2.91% |
| FRESNO CA | $117.99 | 2.72% |
| AUSTIN TX | $105.35 | 2.52% |
| ROCHESTER NY | $100.12 | 2.48% |
| TALLAHASSEE FL | $100.25 | 2.32% |
| TACOMA WA | $114.73 | 1.81% |
| RENO NV | $112.51 | 1.22% |
| KENT WA | $137.77 | 1.19% |
| ANN ARBOR MI | $97.84 | 0.78% |
| COLUMBUS GA | $85.31 | 0.57% |
| SPRING TX | $103.03 | 0.44% |
| SAN DIEGO CA | $139.14 | 0.25% |
Ready for the Summer
While rate growth has been somewhat sluggish overall, many markets appear to be holding their own quite well. Continue to follow the Storage Monitor by subscribing to the Unpacked newsletter to see how the rest of the leasing season plays out.