Why Self-Storage Deals Are Taking Longer to Close | Advisory Perspective

Cap Rates, Demand, and Deal Velocity

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Why Self-Storage Transactions Are Taking Longer to Close

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A common misconception in today’s self-storage market is that slower deal velocity signals weakening demand. In reality, demand has not disappeared. What has changed is how risk is being evaluated, priced, and executed.

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Financing costs increased. Cap rates adjusted. Buyers adapted. Sellers are still recalibrating.

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The result is a market that is more selective, more disciplined, and more deliberate.

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Cap Rates Reflect Risk, Not Just Interest Rates

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Interest rates are part of the story, but they are not the full explanation. Today’s cap rates reflect a broader reassessment of execution risk, operating certainty, and time.

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Operational Certainty Drives Pricing

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Facilities with durable cash flow, clean financials, and predictable operations continue to attract strong buyer interest. Assets that require operational cleanup, repositioning, or lease-up are priced to reflect the real work required to stabilize performance.

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In Florida and other high-growth markets, this distinction is especially clear. Locations with sustained demand and manageable supply pipelines continue to support healthy valuations, while markets with aggressive new supply require more conservative underwriting.

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Buyer Demand Is More Selective, Not Weaker

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Buyer demand remains active, but it has become more analytical and more patient.

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Investors are spending more time evaluating supply dynamics, expense structures, expansion feasibility, and stabilized performance before engaging deeply. This selectivity can slow deal velocity, but it also increases the likelihood of execution once a transaction progresses.

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Deals that advance today tend to do so because expectations are aligned early and execution risk is understood upfront.

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Where Self-Storage Deals Lose Momentum

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Most self-storage transactions do not fail at the closing table.

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They lose momentum much earlier in the process.

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Expectation Gaps

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Sellers often anchor to prior-cycle pricing. Buyers underwrite to current risk and cost of capital. When these perspectives are not aligned early, negotiations stretch, diligence becomes more contentious, and transactions slow or stall.

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Preparation and Execution Risk

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Incomplete financials, unresolved operational issues, or unclear positioning typically surface during diligence, when leverage is lowest. These friction points reduce buyer confidence and introduce execution risk.

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This is where advisory-led execution becomes critical.

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At Storage Point Advisors, we work with owners to understand how buyers are underwriting today, identify execution risks early, and structure transactions in a way that improves certainty of close. Our role is not to rush a process, but to prepare it correctly, whether the outcome is an off-market transaction, a targeted process, or broader exposure when appropriate.

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Learn more about our advisory-led approach here.

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The New Normal for Self-Storage Transactions

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Cap rates, demand, and deal velocity are now closely tied to execution quality.

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The deals that close today are not rushed.

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They are prepared.