The German self-storage market experienced significant growth and an improvement in operational efficiency last year. This contrasts with the average European development, where occupancy rates were in decline. These findings come from the current Industry Report 2026, a joint publication by CBRE and the Association of German Self Storage Companies (Verband deutscher Self Storage Unternehmen e. V.), which summarises market data, operational metrics, and results from a population survey for Germany and Austria.
There are currently 1,394 self-storage facilities in Germany with a total area of approximately 2.92 million square metres. The occupancy rate increased from 75.0 to 76.3 per cent. In parallel, the average rental price per rented square metre per year rose from EUR 292 to EUR 302. Revenue per available square metre, which takes into account the total rentable area including vacancies, reached EUR 231, up from EUR 219 in the previous year. This increase results from price adjustments by about two-thirds and from increased occupancy by one-third. While Germany showed positive development, the European average occupancy rate declined from 79.5 to 77.6 per cent. The smaller gap of now only 1.3 percentage points is attributable to the younger German stock, whose area-weighted average age is 7.9 years, compared to 11.1 years in Europe.
The market remains fragmented, with the seven largest providers representing 45 per cent of the area and 41 per cent of the facilities. Growth is primarily organic: of 31 new facilities within the last twelve months, only three were acquisitions. Currently, 65 further facilities are in the pipeline, with 28 under construction. Austria has 373 facilities totalling approximately 481,000 square metres, representing a 2.4-fold higher facility density per inhabitant compared to Germany. Occupancy in Austria rose from 74.0 to 80.5 per cent, although operational data there was collected on a narrower basis.
The prime yield for self-storage stands at 4.75 per cent, which corresponds to a premium of 165 basis points over the ten-year German federal bond. In comparison: logistics properties are at 4.50 per cent and light industrial at 6.00 per cent. Capital inflow into Germany is increasingly occurring through financing and joint ventures instead of direct acquisitions. Dr. Jan Linsin, Managing Director and Head of Research at CBRE Germany, noted that the yield spread illustrates the classification of the self-storage market between logistics and light industrial, with a premium for operator risk. Interest is driven by current income, meaning that operational quality – particularly location selection, occupancy, and pricing – influences performance more strongly than the entry point. The increasing use of financing and joint ventures reflects investors' need to gain access to the asset class without having to take on operational management.
Despite robust operational data, challenges on the demand side persist. A YouGov survey showed that 52.1 per cent of the German population were unaware of self-storage, while in Austria, it was 24.2 per cent. Furthermore, 68.4 per cent could not name a facility near them. A significant discrepancy exists in price expectations: almost a third of respondents in Germany estimated monthly costs for a 10m² unit at under EUR 50, while another third could not provide a price estimate. Realistically, costs based on the average rental price amount to approximately EUR 250 net per month. This expectation gap leads to 3.4 people who considered using self-storage but did not, for every actual user, with 18.6 per cent of them citing price as the main deterrent.
Klaus Müller, Chairman of the Board of the Association of German Self Storage Companies (Verband deutscher Self Storage Unternehmen e. V.), emphasised that the industry is becoming increasingly professional. He identified the lack of awareness of the offering and distorted price expectations as central challenges for further growth. He explained that customers who enquire with an idea of EUR 50 for a 10m² unit and receive a price of EUR 250 might perceive the offer as overpriced, even though services such as video surveillance, secure access, and flexibility are included. These points could be addressed through improved local visibility and transparent price information before the initial contact.
For the coming twelve months, operators are more cautious than in the previous year. Only 60.0 per cent of the German companies surveyed expect an improvement in results, down from 71.4 per cent last year. The proportion of those predicting a significant improvement decreased from 23.8 to 10.0 per cent. Expectations regarding rents are also more subdued: in Germany, 50 per cent of operators anticipate rising rents, compared to 72.2 per cent across Europe. This change in sentiment correlates with the upcoming project pipeline and indicates increasing competitive pressure.
