Business Insights | How Australia’s self storage assets are stacking up for success

In an ever-changing landscape, some asset classes falter; some go quiet, while others ride a once-in-a-lifetime wave.  

One asset class in particular continues to thrive from strength-to-strength. Self-storage is commanding attention and experiencing its strongest demand to date. It’s attracting both new entrants and familiar names, with many others trying to find a path in. 

“While the self storage sector is no stranger to institutional capital, it wasn’t always the case,” explains CBRE’s Australian National Director, Alternative Assets, Dylan Adams. 

“If we take a short look back to 2017, the sector had just three major players, two of which were regularly acquiring to grow their portfolio.”  

“Skip ahead to 2020, and the sector experienced its first major show of institutional capital with the potential takeover of National Storage REIT (NSR),” adds Emily Quick, CBRE’s Director, Alternative Assets, Australia.  

“While this ultimately did not come to fruition, it can be viewed as the catalyst for the opening of the flood gates.”  

Self storage is now seen as a standalone asset class. But where does the sector’s current landscape sit against the backdrop of accelerating demand?  

Retracing the years of sustained demand 

From 2020 to 2024, the sector experienced a period of sustained demand. CBRE believes there were several key milestones which shaped the investment landscape of the sector during this period. 

“New entrants like Blackstone, a large private equity firm from the US, and StorHub, backed by Warburg Pincus south-east Asian arm, made their presence known with record portfolio transactions,” says Dylan.   

“Blackstone acquired the Victorian Fort Knox portfolio for circa $400 million in 2021 and StorHub acquired a portfolio of three Sydney assets for circa $110 million in 2024.”  

Domestic operators also pursued aggressive growth strategies. Established stakeholders such as Abacus and National Storage REIT (NSR) continued to expand their portfolios through both development and acquisitions.  

“Notable acquisitions over the period included NSR’s acquisition of the Frys Portfolio in 2020 for circa $110 million and Abacus’ acquisition of a portfolio of five Sydney assets for $160 million in 2021,” says Emily. 

Meanwhile, other institutional offshore capital took a different approach with their entrance strategies, partnering with established operators. These include Partners Group, a Swiss-based private equity firm, who partnered with StoreInvest in 2022, and Singapore’s GIC joint venture with NSR in 2024. 

“Perhaps the most significant event was the de-stapling and establishment of Abacus Storage King REIT (ASK) in 2023, which now has two dedicated Australian self storage REITs,” says Dylan.   

Enter a record-setting year 

2025 is officially the strongest year to date for self storage, with almost every record broken.  

“In the first six months of 2025, there were four major milestones, and the momentum doesn’t appear to be slowing,” Emily says. 

Key transactions from the year to date:

• April 2025: A surprise move saw ASK’s largest existing shareholder, Ki Corporation, partnering with US-based Public Storage REIT, one of the top 10 largest global REITs, in an effort to acquire ASK. ASK announced the bid by the consortium to acquire all stapled securities for $1.47 per security which was formally rejected in May. Subsequently, a second bid was lodged in July at $1.65 per security at which time a six-week due-diligence period was granted. However, following this, the offer was retracted in August 2025. Although this did not come to fruition, it highlights the appeal of the Australian and New Zealand markets to global operators and shines a light on both Australian REITs as prime takeover targets.  
• May 2025: The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, announced its entry into the Australian self storage market through the acquisition of the controlling interest in StoreLocal. The transaction exceeding $450 million includes 24 self storage facilities under the StoreLocal brand and 13 third-party managed sites across Australia. 
• July 2025: Kennards Self Storage announced the acquisition of National Mini Self Storage portfolio in New Zealand which represents the largest portfolio transaction in New Zealand’s history. National Mini Self Storage was the largest independent operator within Auckland and the portfolio consisted of 13 trading facilities and a development site.  
• July 2025: In the same month, the sector also saw its second new entrant for the year with Barings, a global asset manager, announcing it had acquired a 95% stake in Swift Storage. The deal, valued at approximately $200 million, gives Barings control over Swift’s operations and its portfolio of self storage facilities, along with a pipeline of new developments across Queensland and Western Australia. 

Standalone transactions matter 

While portfolio transactions have been the primary focus for many owners as they attempt to gain scale in a highly fragmented market, strong demand has also been evident for single assets with two notable transactions so far.  

“In Sydney’s South West, NSR acquired an existing facility within its initial trade-up period for circa-$40 million, reflecting a market yield of sub 5% - a record for a standalone transaction in metropolitan Sydney,” says Dylan.  

“BlackRock, through its management platform StoreLocal, acquired an existing asset in the Gold Coast region for circa $65 million, also reflecting a market yield of sub 5%. 

“Not only is the yield a record for a standalone self storage transaction in Queensland, it also represents the highest value paid for a single asset within Australia’s self storage history.” 

Where self storage is headed 

2025 has already delivered a staggering $1 billion-plus in transactions across the sector.  

“Fuelled by significant demand, CBRE is aware of a small number of other portfolios which are either currently being marketed or are mooted to come to the market soon,” Emily says.  

“Should these be executed, we could see more portfolio transactions across a single year, than in the history of the self storage market since its inception in the 1970s. There’s no doubt the sector has evolved considerably over recent years and we appear to be in the midst of its newest evolution, with the current wave of activity resetting the standards.” 

Increased competition will continue to fuel capital growth and yield compression over the short to medium term.  

While CBRE is optimistic about the industry’s future, one thing remains certain today: self storage is well and truly its own asset class and one to be a part of.