An Atlanta self-storage operator has unloaded a portfolio of its facilities, including five in Georgia, for a nine-figure sum.

In two separate transactions, Space Shop Self Storage sold nine properties for a combined $137M to the publicly traded self-storage owner Extra Space Storage. The first deal consists of four Metro Atlanta properties in Downtown Atlanta, Buckhead, Chamblee and Cumming for a combined $82M.

In the other deal, Extra Space bought five properties from Space Shop for $55M, where all but one, located in Covington, are in the Carolinas.

“Today, private equity groups are catching on and seeking opportunities to put their capital behind [self-storage],” Jason Linscott, a partner at Stein Investment Group, the parent company of Space Shop, said in a press release.

Metro Atlanta has some of the lowest vacancy rates for self-storage facilities in the U.S. at 2.8%, according to a September Marcus & Millichap report. San Diego was the tightest self-storage market in the U.S. at 2.1%.

Demand has been driven by the pandemic's impact on work-from-home practices as well as migration into the Sun Belt, Marcus & Millichap stated in the report.

“If you look back over the past 15 years, self-storage assets have been the steadiest real estate asset class during recessions and have also performed exceptionally well in good times,” Linscott said. "It always has its place with consumers regardless of economic conditions."