This September, storage rates hit an average of $136 nationwide.

That’s up 1.5% compared to September 2024.

Sounds like recovery, right?

Except rates dropped 0.7% from August to September.

And they dropped the month before that too.

And the month before that.

For 27 straight months, national storage rates have been drifting down.

But nobody’s talking about it because the headlines focus on year-over-year comparisons that make things look better than they are.

Here’s what’s actually happening:

September 2025 is better than September 2024…

But only because September 2024 was terrible after two years of rate declines.

You’re not recovering. You’re just losing less than you did last year.

And month by month, you’re still bleeding.

This is the difference between a turnaround and a slow grind:

A turnaround means month-over-month growth. Rates go up in August, then higher in September, then higher in October.

A slow grind means you’re down 0.7% this month, down 0.5% next month, down 0.3% the month after.

The year-over-year number looks okay because you’re comparing against terrible prior-year performance. But the trend is still down.

71% of markets recorded annual rate increases in September.

That stat is meaningless when the national average still dropped month-over-month.

It just means 71% of markets are losing less than they were last year.

Meanwhile, new supply is STILL flooding the worst markets:

Las Vegas is getting 831,700 square feet of new storage in 2025 – that’s 6% of what’s already on the ground.

Los Angeles is getting 757,764 square feet (10% of existing inventory).

San Antonio is getting another 200,000+ square feet.

These are markets that are already oversupplied. And developers are still building.

Which means the monthly drift isn’t stopping anytime soon.

Every month, rates drift down a little. Not a crash. Just 0.5%, 0.7%, maybe 1%.

But it adds up.

After 12 months of drifting down 0.7% per month, you’re down 8% – even if your year-over-year comparison looks flat because you’re measuring against last year’s terrible baseline.

The operators who survive this understand:

Month-over-month trends matter more than year-over-year headlines.

If your rates are drifting down every month, you’re not recovering.

You’re slowly losing.

And if you’re in an oversupplied market where new construction is still coming online, that drift accelerates.

Are your rates drifting up or down?

Here’s to your success,

Cody

P.S. The markets where rates are actually growing month-over-month have one thing in common: no new supply in the pipeline. Geography determines everything right now. If you’re looking to acquire or refinance, market selection is the only thing that matters. Get the strategies here →