3 MIN READ
November 14, 2026
Self storage REITs have long been a bellwether for overall industry performance, and they just posted very positive results, indicating the entire industry is on the upswing. It’s a solid sign that our industry is working its way through a glut of oversupply, and despite historically low US mobility, storage is holding its own.
Same-store NOI rose year-over-year at
- SmartStop +4.9%
- Extra Space +4.6%
- CubeSmart +2.1%
- Public Storage +0.5%
Same-store rent year-over-year was up at
- SmartStop +2.6%
- Extra Space +2.5%
- CubeSmart +0.5%
- Public Storage +0.2%
The NAREIT index of self storage REITs is +26.1% YTD. That’s second only to Lodging/Resorts +55.1% and Data Centers +30.1%. This is really positive performance for modest rent growth that is only recent.
Source: reit.com/news/blog
Where the REITs and the other sophisticated operators have gotten creative is ancillary fee income. Mainly tenant insurance, which averages roughly $15 per month per tenant; the REIT’s goal is to have over 90% of customers pay for insurance, and it’s about 75% pure profit.
CubeSmart’s ancillary fee income (insurance, late fees, move-in fees) grew 16.8%, while its rent growth was 1.1%. This ancillary income is only 5% of CubeSmart’s total revenue, but it accounted for about 42% of its Q3 total revenue growth!
Public Storage’s ancillary income was up 21%.
These ancillary revenue sources, with high profit margins, are becoming more and more valuable to our industry.