The self-storage sector posted a rare positive return among U.S. equity REITs in September. The month saw the FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index decline nearly 3.3 percent, and the index is down 17.5 percent year-to-date.
Self-storage REITs posted gains of nearly 3.7 percent in September — the best performance of any property sector. In the first nine months of the year, self-storage REITs have returned 5.8 percent. The segment is known for its countercyclical nature, and self-storage has been proposed as a conversion potential for the adaptive reuse of retail properties. Yardi Matrix reports self-storage rents increased 0.9 percent from the previous month, reflecting the segment's resilience during economic turmoil.
Among the major property types, REITs posted losses across the board in September. Office REITs fell 6.2 percent, industrial REITs fell 2.4 percent, apartment REITs
