By Mirela Mohan of STORAGECafé The self-storage industry closed 2020 on an upward path, seeing stable or rising rental rates and elevated construction activity across the board after an uncertain year. According to our data, new construction stayed on a steady trajectory throughout the year, with 49.4 million square feet of new product added nationally — slightly less than the volume of new development in 2019. This came as a natural consequence of the high existing inventory which, combined with the shock of the pandemic, eventually led to the asking rate plunge in the first half of 2020. Rates Plunge, Then Revive The existing high inventories put downward pressure on asking rates in 2020, and the arrival of the pandemic only accentuated the existing trend. However, after rents bottomed out at $112 per month in May, street rates started picking up. By December 2020, national street rates had reached $118 per month, a 3.5 percent year-over-year increase. This slow but steady supply growth was mostly linked to consistent demand that emerged from both traditional sources such as moving and downsizing, as well as from new sources created by last year’s disruptive events. For example, college students began to need short-term …
