Yardi's StorageCafe: 42 of top 100 US metros put at least half of past decade's self-storage development in city limits

Forty-two of the 100 largest U.S. metro areas have seen at least half of their self-storage development over the past 10 years inside city limits, according to Yardi's StorageCafe. The other 58 metros came in below that share. Connect CRE reported the figures.

StorageCafe says the past decade's construction was concentrated in suburbs of large, fast-growing metros, but the balance is shifting toward urban sites in mid-sized ones.

StorageCafe cited Las Vegas, San Antonio and Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., among the leading metros for urban self-storage construction. In Sun Belt cities, the firm says, "rapid in-migration has delivered the renter-heavy, apartment-dense urban population that makes urban self-storage not just viable, but essential."

"Storage is a proximity business," said Victor Maghear, a consumer trends and market analyst at StorageCafe. "Customers want convenient access, and that makes urban sites attractive even when development costs are higher." Maghear said the opportunity plays out differently across markets, with some still expanding outward while others put more of their next projects inside city boundaries.