Global investment firm Heitman is partnering with Andover Properties to acquire more self-storage assets as development slows down in the sector.
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The joint venture launched this week with a portfolio of 106 self-storage properties across 16 states, according to a Wednesday press release. Andover said the partnership plans to expand that portfolio throughout the U.S. as the sector has hit what CEO Brian Cohen calls an “inflection point.”
“Following a period of normalization in the wake of COVID-19, we believe a recovery in rents and occupancy may be driven by declining new supply and strengthening demand,” Cohen said in the release. “We therefore believe the current market environment presents an exceptional buying opportunity.”
Both firms have a history in the sector. Focused on alternative real estate assets like RV parks, car washes and manufactured housing, Andover operates Storage King USA and has a portfolio that exceeds 15M SF and 100,000 units. Heitman began investing in self-storage in 1996 and has a portfolio that encompasses more than 1,600 properties across 14 countries.
In May, Heitman launched a core-plus self-storage acquisition strategy with commitments totaling $275M and another $200M in co-investment funds. The effort began with a seed portfolio of 79 self-storage facilities and 4.9M SF that Heitman sought to improve with operational enhancements.
Long bullish on the sector, Heitman called self-storage a “niche-to-necessity” industry in a 2025 white paper. Despite little new construction and asset values having fallen by 11% from their peaks, the sector has historically outperformed other commercial real estate during past major economic slowdowns, including the dot-com bust and the pandemic, according to Heitman.
Heitman added that the sector’s dynamic monthly pricing has allowed it to adjust to reflect market conditions.
Despite improving self-storage fundamentals, delivery of new facilities is on the wane, according to Yardi Matrix, with new supply falling by nearly 19% year-over-year in the second quarter to 22M SF. New construction was down nearly 20% from 2025 levels to 15M SF, impacted by rising debt and construction costs.
“There are few signs that a meaningful rebound in self storage new-development activity will take hold in the second half of 2026,” Yardi said in its report. “Tariffs, the Iran War and the artificial intelligence buildout continue to combine to create elevated inflation pressures, keeping both short- and long-term interest rates elevated.”
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