have spent more than 30 years on the front lines of commercial real estate finance and debt placement. I began my career in the early 1990s as a founding principal of one of the first CMBS lenders focused exclusively on self-storage. At the time, the sector was widely misunderstood. Short-term, month-to-month leases and the perception that self-storage was a transitional land use caused many lenders to dismiss it outright.
Today, that perception has changed dramatically. As a loan advisor and advocate for owners nationwide, I work across the capital markets with access to a broad range of lenders offering specialized and increasingly sophisticated loan structures. Capital providers now recognize self-storage as one of the most compelling asset classes to finance, supported by sustainable cash flow, operational discipline, and resilient performance through multiple economic cycles.
Capital market cycles, however, continue to shape development, acquisition, and refinancing activity. During periods such as the Great Financial Crisis, interest rates were irrelevant because capital was largely unavailable. The lending spigot was effectively shut off, with debt simply not being offered.
The current environment looks very different. Self-storage owners today have access to an unprecedented array of capital sources, including banks, life companies, credit unions, CMBS lenders, debt funds, SBA programs, and private lenders. While interest rates are higher than the recent lows, they remain consistent with longer-term historical norms. More importantly, the depth and diversity of available capital has likely never been greater.
For my clients, selecting the right financing involves far more than choosing the lowest interest rate. I evaluate multiple capital sources to align loan structure, flexibility, execution certainty, and long-term value. In many cases, superior terms and structure outweigh marginal differences in pricing.
On the equity side, a growing number of mid-sized and larger operators are partnering with institutional platforms and pools of capital to support growth and scale as well.
As Mark Twain observed, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” Capital markets will continue to evolve, and remaining static is not an option. The continued embrace of self-storage by capital providers remains a powerful driver of growth, innovation, and wealth creation across the industry. As the capital markets will remain dynamic, adaptability and strategic thinking will be essential for industry participants seeking to maximize future opportunities.