There’s no sugar-coating it—2025 was not an easy year for self-storage owners.
Over the past 12 months, the sector continued to work through a challenging operating environment defined by lower occupancies, compressed rental rates, and rising operating expenses. Property values moderated in the first half of the year, and as we closed out 2025, a broad reset in pricing expectations took hold across nearly every market.
This shift forced storage owners and investors to pause, reassess, and recalibrate. Business models that worked seamlessly during the expansionary years were suddenly under pressure, and long-term investment goals required sharper focus to remain viable in a changing landscape.
A Market Reset Demands Strategic Repositioning
The paradigm shift we experienced in 2025 has pushed self-storage owners to reevaluate how their assets perform—not just in ideal conditions, but in a normalized and more disciplined market.
For some, that meant operational realignment.
For others, it meant repositioning assets or exiting strategically.
In environments like these, clarity matters more than optimism, and decision-making must be grounded in real data, local market intelligence, and proven execution.
With more than 31 years of dedicated self-storage experience, ARGUS brokers continue to guide clients through these transitions—helping them adapt, reposition, and ultimately excel despite headwinds.
Performance in a Difficult Year
Despite the challenges, 2025 was a highly productive year for ARGUS Broker Affiliates.
Across the platform, ARGUS successfully completed the sale of more than 100 self-storage properties, representing an aggregate transaction value exceeding $500 million. These transactions ranged from multi-state, 10-property portfolios to single-asset dispositions and development sites, illustrating the depth and flexibility of the ARGUS platform.
This level of activity in a reset market is not accidental—it reflects disciplined valuation guidance, realistic pricing strategies, and execution built on experience rather than speculation.
The Power of Local Expertise + National Resources
ARGUS clients continue to benefit from a rare combination in the brokerage landscape:
This industry reach and resource depth allowed ARGUS clients to navigate today’s operating and investment environment with confidence—making informed decisions rather than reactive ones.
As we often say at ARGUS, good owner-operators and good brokers make money in both good and bad markets. The outcomes achieved in 2025 clearly demonstrate that ARGUS clients are doing exactly that.
Looking Ahead with Confidence
We remain incredibly thankful to be part of the self-storage industry—a sector defined by resilience, adaptability, and long-term demand fundamentals.
The success ARGUS achieved in 2025, despite a challenging backdrop, is what continues to set the platform apart from other commercial real estate advisors. It is the direct result of the tireless work of ARGUS Corporate staff and Broker Affiliates nationwide, all focused on delivering results when conditions are anything but easy.
As the market continues to normalize, experience, execution, and trusted advisory will remain the defining advantages. ARGUS stands ready to help self-storage owners navigate what’s next—just as we’ve done through every cycle before.
View 2025 ARGUS Year In Review.
