California Self-Storage Market Report
The California Self-Storage market has long benefitted from the state’s robust population and small housing spaces in urban areas. The average US apartment is roughly 50 square feet larger than the average apartment in California, making Self-Storage an important aspect of life in CA. In addition, households in the state average 2.8 people, compared to the 2.5-person average nationally. More people in smaller boxes bodes well for continued self-storage demand in the state. Limited buildable space in many of the coastal urban area’s is also driving strong fundamentals, with few new facilities entering California markets.
Los Angeles
- 12-Month Sales Volume: $112M | Source: Real Capital Analytics | (Through 4Q 2024)
Market Overview
The Los Angeles Self-Storage Market has recorded a significant pullback in sales activity, largely due to sizable portfolio deals occurring in 2023. Investors have been most active in West LA/Long Beach in 2024. The market could be poised to see more activity in 2025, as two of the three largest deals last year occurred in H2.
According to Storage Café, the market has 9,535 units across 213 facilities, totaling over 6.8 million square feet.
San Jose
- 12-Month Sales Volume: $19.4M | Source: Real Capital Analytics | (Through 4Q 2024)
Market Overview
San Jose has recorded strong fundamentals over the past several quarters, driven by limited development activity in the metro. The metro is home to one of the top submarkets for rental rate growth nationally, the Milpitas submarket in the metro’s Northeast corner. The metro is also home to one of the highest apartment rent figures in the country, a factor which supports household bundling into smaller spaces.
According to Storage Café, the metro houses roughly 4,708 units across 68 facilities, totaling over 4.7 million square feet.
San Diego
- 12-Month Sales Volume: $26.6M | Source: Real Capital Analytics | (Through 4Q 2024)
Market Overview
San Diego household formation has outpaced the state average, with the newest figures showing a 0.3% expansion rate vs 0.1% for the state. This, along with San Diego’s high population of millennials and Gen-Z, suggests household formation and family creation could rise in San Diego in 2025. Family creation and shifting lifestyles often boost self-storage demand, and the effect should bolster self-storage performance in the metro.
According to Storage Café, San Diego is home to 10,388 self-storage units across 83 facilities, totaling over 6.6 million square feet.
San Francisco & Oakland
- 12-Month Sales Volume: $55.4M | Source: Real Capital Analytics | (Through 4Q 2024)
Market Overview
San Francisco and The East Bay benefit from the metros top 5 ranking for retail sales per capita. While apartments and homes in the city are typically smaller than average, a higher level of goods purchasing will necessitate continued self-storage utilization in the Bay Area. Self-storage space per person is tighter in San Francisco than it is in the East Bay, at 2.1 and 2.4 people per square foot respectively.
According to Storage Café, the market is home to 6,597 units across 53 properties, totaling over 2.2 million square feet.
Inland Empire
- 12-Month Sales Volume: $32.8M | Source: Real Capital Analytics | (Through 4Q 2024)
Market Overview
With rent control policies that restrict housing development in Los Angeles proper, Inland Empire, and specifically Riverside-San Bernadino, has emerged as the leader for population growth and household formation in Southern California. Prolonged remote work policies at LA companies further enabled households to move west of the city, while a better supply-demand relationship in the housing market will continue to keep the metros rents lower than those recorded in Los Angeles or Orange Counties.
Sacramento
- 12-Month Sales Volume: $24.0M | Source: Real Capital Analytics | (Through 4Q 2024)
Market Overview
Remote work in the Bay Area in tandem with skyrocketing housing costs has encouraged a stable flow of migration into Sacramento in recent years. The exuberant housing costs in San Francisco have affected younger workers most sharply, encouraging many to leave the coast for better living conditions. These young workers will soon start families, boosting the long-term outlook for self-storage demand in Sacramento.
According to Storage Café, the market is home to 7,024 units across 97 properties, totaling over 6.1 million square feet.
