Hey there,
It's been a great start to the year, and January was a particulairly busy month for us. I'm looking forward to having some much-needed vacation time with my family this month. Let me know if you have any fun plans for the upcoming winter break - hit "reply" to this email!
Alright, let's get to the resources for this week. Here's what you'll learn:
âś… Why Americans "feel" broke (even though we're making more money than ever)
✅ Why we’re entering the “Golden Age” of self stoarge
âś… How new data is making storage investing even better in 2026
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[ AJO Podcast ] Why Americans “Feel” Broke, Despite Making More Money Than Ever
For years, we’ve been told that the middle class is collapsing. But it’s not. It’s moving up. Incomes in the U.S. have actually surged over the last 30-40 years. People are getting wealthier, so why doesn’t it feel like it?
The reality is that where you live, how you live, and what you owe have a much bigger impact than your tax bracket. Yes, housing has outpaced inflation, but other costs—like college tuition, childcare, and healthcare—have blown past it. A millennial with student debt and less purchasing power feels much poorer than someone in another area of the country—even if they earn the same salary. It’s a tale of two Americas.
But there’s an even bigger distinction between millennials who have prospered and those who continue to struggle, and you might have more control over which side you land on after all.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE EPISODE
[ SSI Podcast ] We’re Entering the “Golden Age” of Self Storage (Boomers Exit)
An entire generation is disappearing, and it’s going to shake more than just the self storage industry. By 2035, we’ll have witnessed an unprecedented handover of not just residential real estate but also self storage facilities.
Now is one of the best times to invest in self storage because the facilities that are hitting the market are small, mom-and-pop operations that you can buy at a much lower basis than in years past. These unique buying opportunities, combined with institutional-level technology that is finally in the hands of everyday investors looking to increase revenue, could usher us into a new “golden age” for self storage.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE EPISODE
[ Article ] Self Storage Investors: The Deal Landscape Just Changed in 2026
For most of its history, self storage investing has been built on educated guesswork. Investors relied on indirect signals like population growth, supply per capita, street rates, and new construction permits to decide where to deploy capital. Those inputs mattered, but they were never the full picture.
That is changing in 2026.
A major shift is underway in how self storage deals are evaluated, underwritten, and operated. Thanks to new occupancy information now available through storage analytics provider TractIQ, for the first time ever, verified operating performance data is becoming available at scale. Think occupancy trends. Achieved rents. Financial performance across thousands of facilities going back years.
This is not a minor upgrade. It is a structural change that lowers risk, improves pricing discipline, and creates better opportunities, especially for smaller and mid sized investors who historically operated at a disadvantage.
Hope you enjoy the new resources.
That's it for this week - until next time!
- AJ Osborne
