Operator math, campaign insights, and hard-won lessons from running self-storage facilities and filling them with paid ads.
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Self-storage has posted positive NOI growth in every major recession since 2000. The same life events that fill units get more common when the economy turns. The risk in a downturn isn't demand drying up. It's you cutting marketing right when demand shows up.
Storage demand follows the moving season: it builds in spring, peaks in summer, and cools in winter. If you spend the same on marketing every month, you're overpaying in the slow season and underfunded when the renters actually show up.
About $875B in commercial real estate debt matures in 2026, values are down 25% from the 2022 peak, and storage transaction volume is climbing. A lot of facilities are changing hands. The new owners need marketing on day one, and most don't have it.
Public Storage reported Q4 2025 earnings last week. Here's what independent operators should actually pay attention to.