SSAA NEW SERVICE MEMBER

THE YEAR THAT WAS

By Linda Sharkey, Divisional Director – Self Storage, Cushman & Wakefield

2020 was a bumper year for our industry. Take-over bids, buy outs, huge portfolio transactions and significant rebound– there may never be another year as unpredictable and opportunistic as 2020.

Despite the challenges and disrupters of the year, the self storage market had an incredible story of resilience and agility - and a more positive end than many other sectors.

Over half a billion dollars of self storage transactions were negotiated throughout 2020 making it the biggest year for transactions to date.

Prime capitalisation rates sharpened between 75-100 basis points across 2020 – unparalleled with any other 12 month period. The capitalisation rate spread between the once unconventional asset class of self storage and the ‘safe’ traditional asset classes is swiftly diminishing. The strength of our market has created a new wave of demand for self storage assets. Over $700 million of capital raising was announced by the institutional owners in 2020. We have seen new investors emerge to acquire self storage portfolios. Overseas interest is on the rise. Our local market is now a global attraction. 2020 brought change for our team also. Hugh Davies, Patrick Mulcahy and I joined global real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, market leaders of self storage valuation and advisory across the USA and Europe. We have joined an exceptional team of 2,000 valuers and over 53,000 employees globally, across valuation, capital markets, property, facilities and project management, leasing, due diligence and more, covering all asset classes and specialities.

Using this platform, we will continue to service the Australian and New Zealand self storage market through valuations, market research, supply and demand studies and transaction management, while staying ahead of what’s next for our industry. We are pleased to announce that David Blackwell will continue to work with us through consultancy and transaction management at Cushman & Wakefield.

We will continue to keep you informed on the market through the SSAA. Also, keep an eye out for our soon to be released Self Storage Market Measure publication.

Hugh, Pat and I thank you for your continued support as we all embrace what this year will have in store for our industry. l

Linda Sharkey Hugh Davies Patrick Mulcahy