Self-Storage: The New Investment Darling

“Maybe we should rent a mini warehouse.” My wife makes this statement every fall as we put away our lawn furniture. My response years ago should have been “No, let’s buy some!”

A recent Globe Street column by Brian J. Rogal of M J Partners, a Chicago-based firm, reports that the largest self-storage REIT now has an implied cap rate of 4.0%. Competitor REIT cap rates are ranging from 4.5% to 5.7%.

Courtesy of A+ Self Storage 

Thinking Outside the Box: 7 New Ways to Invest

Traditionally, real estate investment has been in each of the five main property types: retail, industrial, multifamily, office, and hospitality. Yet in the last decade or so, investors have been branching out into more specialized endeavors.

Farms

The world’s population is expected to increase to about 9 billion people by 2050, while the UN predicts a steady decline in the amount of arable land per capita from 0.218 to 0.181 hectares in that same time. In the Midwest, there has been a 128% rise in average farmland values over the last decade, shooting up from $1,270 an acre in 2003 to $2,900 in 2013 (by USDA estimates).