A construction worker was injured last week after falling several stories at a self-storage conversion project in West Hartford, Conn. The man was taken to a local hospital, where his injuries were deemed non-life-threatening, according to the source.

Emergency response teams were called to 1031 New Britain Ave. on May 6, just after 11 a.m. The former Bally’s Total Fitness, which had been vacant several years, sold in October to A Storage Solution LLC, which was transforming the building to self-storage space.

The man had been pouring concrete on an upper floor when he dropped through it, landing on wet concrete on the floor below. That level partially failed and sent him falling again. The fire department upgraded the incident to a “rescue alarm” and requested additional resources due to the building being considered unstable, according to Keith Albert, battalion chief for the West Hartford Fire Department.

The man was lifted to safety by a basket and cleansed of the wet concrete before transportation, Albert said. No one else was injured.

The incident is being investigated by the city’s building and police departments.

Based in West Hartford, A Storage Solution was founded in 2020.

Source:
We-Ha.com, West Hartford Fire Department Rescues Construction Worker Who Fell Through Floor, Extinguishes Fire Under Solar Panels

Absolute Storage Management (ASM), a self-storage owner and property-management firm, has announced its operating results for the first quarter of 2021. The company increased same-store revenue by 8.8% compared to the same period last year. Same-store net operating income increased by 14.2%, with a 2% decrease in expenses, according to a press release.

The company also increased its square-foot occupancy by 6% compared to the first quarter in 2020. It ended the period with 90.5% occupancy, a 6.4% surge, the release stated.

ASM gained three management contracts during the quarter. One is for an operating facility while the remaining are for properties under construction. The sites are 1 Stop Self Storage in Dayton, Ohio; Bent Creek Storage in Auburn, Ala.; and Sunshine Storage in Plaquemine, La.

“I am extremely proud of our team’s performance, not just during the first quarter of 2021, but over the past year,” said CEO Scott Beatty. “Our same-store growth and consistent expense management practices have allowed us to achieve industry-leading results despite the headwinds.”

Founded in 2002, ASM operates 137 properties in 16 states. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., it has regional offices in Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Jackson, Miss.; and Nashville, Tenn.

Reprinted with permission from G5.

Curious about Google My Business, online leasing or cost-effective ways to market self-storage in a COVID-19 world? You aren’t alone. I checked in with Will Harlan, my company’s national sales director, to answer some frequently asked questions on these topics. Here’s what our marketing guru advises.

What is Google My Business (GMB) and how does it improve self-storage business?

Think of GMB as your company’s hype person. Presently, we see roughly 35% to 55% of website traffic coming through GMB. Of course, these profiles can’t do all the work of your self-storage website, but they can get potential renters interested and move them along the path to signing a lease.

You must populate your free GMB listing to connect with customers on basic information like address, hours, website and phone number. You should also offer photos or videos of your self-storage business. GMB influences local search engine optimization (SEO), which is huge when you consider that 31% of online leases are driven via a location’s GMB listing, according to our reporting.

What percentage of customers who rent self-storage online are mobile users?

In the last quarter of 2019, Google noted that 58% of users who searched for self-storage did so on a mobile device. This was a 15% increase from the previous year. With more folks at home juggling multiple priorities, this is expected to rise.

Since January 2020, we’ve seen 57% of online leases come through on mobile. Of course, COVID-19 could’ve caused this to number to rise quickly; but in general, the trend is consistent with what we’ve seen. We know the pandemic has shifted consumer behavior, with more customers turning to online options. This trend is expected to hold steady post-crisis, making mobile-first optimization more vital than ever.

Once the SEO is done for my self-storage website, is ongoing work really necessary?

When you buy a car, do you skip oil changes? Like any engine, SEO needs a regular tune-up, as it’s constantly changing.

As additional platforms like GMB influence local SEO, self-storage properties need a multi-faceted approach to keep top-of-search and top-of-mind. A strong marketing partner should be up-to-date on SEO shifts and maintain your strategy, so your business has a strong presence on organic search results. Not sure where to start? Schedule quarterly or semi-annual SEO audits to look for ways to improve.

What are cost-effective ways to advertise self-storage online?

It’s no secret that digital advertising costs are rising. Click-through rates are decreasing, and cost-per-click is increasing. In self-storage, specifically, large companies with deeper pockets can flood the market with ads, making competition challenging for small and mid-sized businesses. You pay each time someone clicks on an ad, so your ultimate goal is to make sure every click matters.

The simplest thing is to make sure your strategy includes the right keywords, so your ads show up in the most relevant searches, which reduces unwanted clicks. Beyond having the right strategy in place, the smartest marketers are leveraging technology to spend ad budgets efficiently.

Ad optimization helps determine which ads deliver the most qualified prospects to your self-storage property, and then redirects spend to those higher-performing ad channels. Some companies might do this work manually, but at best, it could take upward of 20 hours for a human analyst to get it right—wasting your time and money. Instead, connect with a company that uses data science and automation to do this every day. You’ll see an increase in qualified calls for the same ad budget.

What’s a good Google Ads budget?

Whew! What a toughie. Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer. Our recommendation is to start with the end in mind. Ask yourself a few foundational questions. Do you want to generate self-storage leases? What’s your current occupancy? What’s your typical leasing season? Do you want to create a brand identity?

Next, think about your market. How many competitors do you have within 5 to 10 miles? Speaking generally, a storage property that’s in a lease-up needs an aggressive (and probably larger) budget to fill units and drive occupancy. On the other hand, a property that’s stabilized needs to examine historical turnover to understand occupancy fluctuation patterns and allocate the funds appropriately.

Digital marketing can be complicated, and a lot to navigate alone. If you lack the time or expertise, consider partnering with marketing company to get the best return from your digital advertising dollars.

With nearly eight years of experience in the areas of account management and customer success, Adam Mackie has helped organizations improve their cross-departmental alignment to create a more customer-centric approach. As the senior director of the self-storage vertical at G5, he drives the operational efficiency and effectiveness of the sales and account-management organization to ensure self-storage operators use the full potential of the company’s products and services to meet their business objectives. For more information, call 800.554.1965.

Australia-based DBI Storage Pty. Ltd. has purchased a five-property self-storage portfolio in Western Australia from KBH Group for $84 million. KBH plans to use the funds to expand on the East Coast, where demand for self-storage is on the rise, according to the source.

The deal includes a five-year management agreement for four properties branded as KeepSafe Storage and one as Welshpool Self Storage. KBH will retain ownership of one of its five KeepSafe sites. It’ll also continue to own Coastal Service Units in Mandurah, Western Australia, and Pier 21 Marina in North Fremantle, a suburb of Perth. The company retains the rights to branding, intellectual property, proprietary systems and employees.

“We're extremely proud of what we have been able to achieve in a relatively short period,” said Shaun Bain, managing director for KBH. “We have developed greenfield sites, acquired and improved existing sites, and undertaken management of third-party sites. In each of those facilities, we were able to deliver an industry-leading experience to our customers—and exceptional returns to our shareholders and investors—in what has been a difficult trading period.”

Based in Perth, West Australia, KBH was founded in 2009 by Kevin Bain, Shaun Bain, Nathan Hewitt and Stuart Kenny. It opened its first site in 2015.

Source:
Business News Australia, KBH Group Sells WA Self-Storage Portfolio for More Than $84M

Shurgard Self Storage Europe SARL, the European affiliate of U.S.-based real estate investment trust Public Storage Inc., has released financial results for the quarter that ended March 31. In general, the company showed gains in key areas, particularly in operating revenue and net operating income (NOI), according to a press release.

Highlights include an operating-revenue growth at constant exchange rate (CER) of 7.1% for the first quarter. Same-store revenue grew 4% using CER. All stores’ NOI increased 5.2%. Same-store NOI margin grew .3% to 57.6%. Adjusted earnings on the European Public Real Estate Association Index were €25.4 million for the quarter, up 4.5% using CER.

Of the seven European markets in which Shurgard operates, The Netherlands showed the largest same-store, year-over-year revenue gain at 8.3% using CER. Denmark was second at 5.1%, followed by the United Kingdom at 4.8%. Same-store locations in Sweden and Germany performed the weakest, with revenue up 1% and 1.2%, respectively.

Shurgard has 11 development projects in its pipeline scheduled to open this year and another five slated for 2022. The projects, spread across France, Germany, Netherlands and U.K., will add 68,585 square meters to its portfolio.

“The first quarter of 2021 continues to show a strong performance for Shurgard,” said CEO Marc Oursin. “We are experiencing different restrictions per country due to various measures imposed by the respective governments; however, whether via our staff or our new e-rental process, all prospects can become Shurgard customers.”

Shurgard operates 244 self-storage facilities comprising 1.2 million net rentable square meters in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Based in Glendale, Calif., Public Storage has interests in 2,563 self-storage facilities in 38 states, with approximately 176 million net rentable square feet. It holds a 35% interest in Shurgard.

There are many reasons why a self-storage owner might choose to perform a facility audit. It isn’t always because they suspect employee theft. Most of the time, it’s to examine the condition of the property, assess reports and records, and find ways to operate more efficiently. Learn why you should complete an audit of your property on a regular basis, either yourself or through a qualified third party, plus what it should cover and how to use the results.

Check Your Management Reports

The first step in a self-storage facility audit is to generate several reports from your management software. These might go by different names or formats depending on the vendor, but most are pretty similar.

Pull every report available to you and look at it. If you don’t have a comprehensive understanding of your report options or the data they contain, call your software provider and get some help. Many programs have reports designed specifically for auditing, so ask your vendor what it recommends. Print these out, get familiar with them prior to your inspection, and bring them with you on audit day.

Once you know the best reports available to you and how to really use them, you can choose which ones to access on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. These might include:

Occupancy overview. You can learn a lot about your business from this report, such as which months tend to be slower and could benefit from some specials and the months that typically generate higher income.

Management summary. This report shows you overall facility income, occupancy (move-ins and move-outs) and delinquency. These things can change from day to day, so it makes sense to pull it on a monthly basis. Many owners do so at the close of each month. Just bear in mind that if you charge rent on each tenant’s anniversary date rather than on the first of each month, the numbers won’t be as easy to track.

Changes in unit rate. This report tells you which tenants are getting rate increases and when. It also shows how much income is being lost due to vacancies or delinquencies.

Raising rates is part of your managers’ job. They need to be doing this regularly, based on what the market will bear, and know how to overcome customer objections. Personally, I don’t believe in across-the-board increases. I know it takes more effort and time to apply rate changes on a case-by-case basis, looking at each tenant’s length of stay, payment history, etc.; but manual adjustments allow you to control who gets a hike, by how much and how often.

Substandard rates or discounts. By looking at this report, you can see who’s paying less than the standard rate and for how long. Then you can begin the process of raising those rates. I never like to reduce a rate for the long-term. It’s better to offer a promotion such as “pay one month, get one month free” or “pay 50% for the first three months.”

Concessions. This report tells you how much a manager is giving away each month, whether in free rent, locks and merchandise, or waived fees. You then need to investigate how these concessions were given. For instance, was it at the time of move-in or to a current tenant? How did the tenant pay? Was it by credit card, check or cash?

If you see a manager giving away a lot of rent or merchandise that was paid in cash, this should raise a red flag. You can always phone the tenant under the guise of a customer-service call and ask how they like storing with you and about their discount. If they say they didn’t receive a concession when they paid their rent, or they paid a fee in cash, then you know you have a problem behind the counter.

Do a Physical Inspection

With your reports and a notebook in hand, conduct a physical inspection of the property. In particular, grab the report that shows the current rent roll, including vacant and unrentable or in-maintenance units. I always print this report by unit number and highlight available and company units, plus those that should be overlocked.

Next, open every unit that should be empty and verify that it is. Also, make sure the unit size is listed correctly in the report.

Check each unit number and make sure one have been deleted from the software. The exception would be unit conversions. For example if you combined two 5-by-10s into one 10-by-10, you will obviously have lost a unit number. Over time, the number of units at your facility may change, but the total square footage will not (unless you physically expand). Therefore, if you discover missing unit numbers and your square footage has dropped, you need to investigate. It’s possible your manager is rending units off-book for cash.

During your inspection, check the units that are in delinquency status and ensure they’re overlocked. Also, check to see that every unit on the property is locked. Actually pull on each lock to make sure it’s securely closed! If you find delinquent units that aren’t overlocked, overlocks on paid units, or units that aren’t properly locked, your manager isn’t doing his lock checks.

Finally, record any maintenance issues that need to be addressed such as broken latches, burned-out lightbulbs, or dirty hallways or stairwells. When I find these things, I wonder if the manager is regularly waking the property. Also, inspect the office and tenant restrooms. If they’re dirty, it’s likely the facility is going to be in the same condition!

Confirm Retail Inventory

An often-overlooked component of a self-storage audit is the retail inventory. Generate a report to track the number of locks, boxes, and other packing and moving supplies that should be available. Count every item, and don't forget what’s on display in the office. I’ve seen some properties where the count is so far off I know the manager has been ordering supplies and not adding the new items into the software. If there’s too much product, consider asking the manager to send inventory requests to you or your corporate office before ordering.

Review Tenant Files

Next up are the tenant files. Are they orderly? Are all leases signed and initialed? Is there a signed insurance addendum in each file?

Also, inspect all files related to lien sales. Auctions are a self-storage owner's No. 1 legal liability and, sadly, up to 60% of related files have some sort of error that could cause you to lose a case if sued. You’d be surprised at how many contain misspellings, transposed numbers, etc. If you have questions or doubts about a particular unit, pull it from the sale, resend all notices and restart the process. It's only a few hundred dollars in lost rent, but it could save your thousands in payout to a tenant who’ll claim to have tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of goods in that 5-by-5 unit.

Observe Customer Service

While in the office, see how your manager answers the phone. Could they do better? Perhaps it's time for a refresher on sales. Even a seasoned employee can get lax and forget to hone their skills.

I also recommend hiring a mystery-shopping company to test your managers on a regular basis. At the facilities I oversee, I give managers who score 90% and above a $250 bonus. They really focus on turning those calls into rentals with that kind of incentive!

Use the Findings

After your audit is complete, sit down with your self-storage staff and go over your findings. Discuss maintenance issues, marketing campaigns, rate increases, problem tenants, collections and lien sales. Make sure they’re adhering to company policies and procedures, and ask if they need more training in certain areas. It's your responsibility as the owner to provide the necessary tools your employees need to do their job effectively.

Sometimes owners get busy with life and find that squeezing in facility inspections isn’t always easy. If you don't have the time or you still don’t feel comfortable doing this on your own, hire someone to do audits for you. Just keep in mind that most auditors aren’t accountants—they aren’t there to balance your checkbook. Similarly, your accountant isn’t a facility auditor. Sure, they can and should alert you to any financial red flags, such as income that’s off from month to month, so you can investigate those discrepancies; but for a full site inspection, it’s a good idea to hire a company that specializes in the storage industry.

Whether you do them yourself or outsource, facility audits should always be unannounced. If you make it known to all your managers from the first day that surprise inspections are part of company policy, they won’t be taken aback or feel you mistrust them when you or someone else shows up. They’ll understand it's just part of the operation.

Also, vary when you conduct your audits. Don't always perform them at the same time of year. In addition, always inspect the property when there’s a change of management or when you suspect something isn’t right.

If any warnings do pop up, investigate. Dig into tenant histories and see how customers paid, what kind of discounts they received, etc. If you suspect manager theft, take immediate action by releasing that person and replace them. Do not allow a potentially dishonest employee to remain in your facility to do further damage.

A facility audit provides a clear view of how your self-storage operation and staff are performing. It also helps you uncover any problems that could be derailing your business. Regularly conducting these inspections can help you improve your operation and, hopefully, your revenue.

Pamela Alton is owner of Mini-Management Services, which has been placing self-storage managers in positions all over the United States since 1991. She also offers staff training, operational consulting, and facility audits and inspections. For more information, call 321.890.2245; email pamela@mini-management.com.

When Prakash Gunasingham and Shawn Shanmuganathan first decided to go into business together, their focus was real estate development. That brought them into contact with a number of well-connected professionals over the years, one of whom suggested they look at an old self-storage facility in remote Lloydminster, Alberta, Canada. Ultimately, it led to their first storage acquisition in 2014.

“At the time, self-storage was not considered a mainstream asset class. There were no institutional investors, no pension funds in the mix in Canada. They were independent, usually family-owned enterprises,” Shanmuganathan says. “We knew nothing about it at all.”

Fast forward seven years and the pair are now managing partners of Vaultra Storage, which operates 13 locations across Canada. In fact, the company just finished its state-of-the-art flagship facility in Toronto’s Castlefield Design District, and is spearheading the construction of two new locations outside the city. Vaultra continues to upgrade its existing properties, and now offers bespoke third-party project- and site-management services to other facility owners.

“We saw the potential of self-storage early, and we’ve never looked back or stopped learning,” Shanmuganathan says.

Obstacles Overcome

One of the biggest lessons for the company came from the push to complete the Castlefield project last year amid the coronavirus pandemic. Designed to resemble an office building, the six-story facility contains 260,000 square feet of climate-controlled space in more than 2,100 units. Open 24/7, it has some unique features including contactless rental technology, 240 security cameras, drive-thru loading docks and flexible office space, which can be rented by the hour. Customers can also purchase moving and packing supplies and truck rentals.

The project scale and timing were daunting, but it was completed on budget and just eight weeks past deadline. That’s impressive given the challenges the development faced even before the first shovel hit the ground. The property previously housed a mattress factory that had burned down. Extensive environmental remediation of the land was required to make it compliant with provincial government standards.

In Canada, city officials typically balk at self-storage construction because, once up and running, the facilities don’t create many jobs. This might have been the case for Vaultra; however, by incorporating flexible office spaces geared toward small- and mid-size businesses, the project quickly gained approval. The owners partnered with My Lauft Inc. on the workspaces and added a smart conference room that can be booked on demand through a mobile app.

Vaulta Storage in Toronto

But there was still the reality of harsh winter weather and COVID-related delays with which to contend. Vaultra had to address materials-delivery interruptions, labor shortages and health protocols to protect workers. The company workted with with the general contractor to negotiate with subcontractors and manufacturers and catch up on lost time. The subs added extra staff once the materials arrived and brought in external help to complete the project in 20 months.

A Fresh Template

Throughout this challenging development process, the Vaultra team was encouraged by two compelling factors. First, the prime location is close to major highways, public transit and a plethora of businesses, which should translate to strong customer exposure. Second, they knew they were creating a model for the company’s future success.

Vaultra Storage offers work stations

“We worked out a lot of details in developing our Castlefield location, and now we have a template that’s already working beautifully with our two new builds,” Shanmuganathan says. “It helps that we never lost sight of our core focus: serving as a seamless, secure extension of our clients’ homes or businesses.”

That model is all the more valuable given the ongoing growth in broad-based demand for self-storage. Soaring house sales mean more Canadians are moving—and storing—their household goods. Having spent much of the past year in lockdown, they’re also continuing to declutter, making room for home offices and virtual classrooms.

Furthermore, as businesses have ramped up their e-commerce capacity in the face of COVID-19, shifting away from brick-and-mortar stores, business-to-business storage and supply chains have become more strategic in the short- and long-term. Had that trend been apparent sooner, Shanmuganathan says Vaultra would have added even more large units and drive-up spaces to the Castlefield mix.

Now, with the Vaultra flagship facility filling rapidly and the new sites under construction, the team continues to focus on new revenue streams. The company has also been able to accelerate and diversify its reach by striking strategic partnerships with long-term investors like Peerage Capital, a Toronto-based private-investment company. “Together, we’ve mapped out a plan that makes sure that, as our tagline promises, we’ve got room for that,” Shanmuganathan says. “Lots and lots of room!”

Ellen Du is marketing manager for Vaultra Storage, a Canadian-based company that acquires, develops and manages self-storage in Albera, British Columbia and Ontario. It also provides third-party management services as well as and development and operations consulting. Its portfolio includes 12 locations, with 15 projects underway in Greater Toronto. For more information, email info@vaultra.ca.

The five largest publicly traded, U.S.-based self-storage real estate investment trusts (REITs)—CubeSmart, Extra Space Storage Inc., Life Storage Inc., National Storage Affiliates Trust and Public Storage Inc.—have released financial statements for the quarter that ended March 31. In general, the companies indicated gains in funds from operations (FFO), net operating income (NOI) and occupancy.

“We are off to a great start in 2021, with the strongest first-quarter occupancy in our history,” said Joe Margolis, CEO of Extra Space. “Our record-high occupancy is resulting in greater pricing power, and we are well-positioned for a strong summer-leasing season. Our year-to-date performance, the resilience of storage fundamentals and our accretive external growth have allowed us to raise our 2021 annual FFO guidance.”

Christopher P. Marr, president and CEO of CubeSmart, expressed similar sentiments. “Performance remains strong across the country as we continue to meet the needs of our customers in this rapidly changing environment. As we enter the busy rental season, record-high occupancy and an improving macroeconomic backdrop will continue to provide a positive operating environment. We remain disciplined in evaluating external growth opportunities with our continued focus on generating attractive risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders.”

CubeSmart

CubeSmart reported FFO per share of $0.47 during the first quarter of 2021, up from $0.41 a year ago. Same-store NOI at its 511 facilities grew 8.9% year over year. The company attributed this to a 6.7% increase in revenue and a 2% increase in operating expenses. Same-store locations contributed 90.7% of property NOI during the quarter.

Same-store physical occupancy was 94.4% as of March 31, up from 91.3% a year ago. The company’s total-owned portfolio, representing 543 facilities and comprising 38.7 million square feet of rentable space, had a physical occupancy of 93% at the end of the quarter.

CubeSmart didn’t acquire any wholly-owned properties during the quarter, but it did complete a new development in Virginia for $26.4 million. It was a second-phase project that’s part of a consolidated joint venture in which the REIT owns a 90% interest. At quarter-end, the company had five joint-venture projects under construction to which it’s expected to contribute $120.5 million.

On Feb. 23, the company declared a dividend of 34 cents per common share, which was equal to the previous quarter. The dividend was paid on April 15 to common shareholders of record on April 1.

CubeSmart owns or manages 1,244 self-storage facilities across the United States. Its operating portfolio comprises 85.5 million square feet.

Extra Space Storage Inc.

Same-store revenue and NOI at Extra Space increased 4.6% and 6.5%, respectively, compared to the same period in 2020. Core FFO, excluding adjustments for non-cash interest, was $1.50 per diluted share, a 21% increase over the previous year. Same-store occupancy was 95.7% as of March 31 compared to 90.9% a year prior.

During the quarter, the company acquired nine facilities for approximately $148.4 million. It also sold 16 wholly-owned stores into a new joint venture for $168.9 million, resulting in a $64.5 million gain.

Extra Space paid a quarterly dividend of $1 per common share, which was up from 90 cents the previous quarter. It was paid on March 31 to common shareholders of record on March 15.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Extra Space owns or operates 1,969 self-storage properties in 40 states; Washington, D.C.; and Puerto Rico. The company’s properties comprise approximately 1.4 million units and 153.4 million square feet of rentable space.

Life Storage Inc.

Same-store revenue and NOI at Life Storage increased 7.3% and 8.6%, respectively, compared to 2020. FFO was $1.08, compared to $0.94 a year ago, while adjusted FFO for the quarter was also $1.08 per fully diluted common share, compared to $0.93.

Net income attributable to common shareholders for the first quarter was $47.4 million, or $0.63 per fully diluted share. For the same period in 2020, net income attributable to common shareholders was $36.4 million, or $0.52 per fully diluted common share. The increase was primarily attributed to $800,000 of preferred dividend income associated with the acquisition of a facility from one of the REIT’s unconsolidated joint ventures.

Same-store revenue for the company’s 531 wholly owned, stabilized facilities increased 7.3% year over year, impacted by an increase in average occupancy of 410 basis points and a 1.3% bump in rental rates. Overall occupancy as of March 31 was 93.1%, up from 88.3% a year ago, with units renting for an average of $14.82 per square foot.

During the quarter, Life Storage acquired 16 facilities across six states for $266.2 million. The assets include eight in Florida, three in Arizona, two in Washington, and one each in California, New York and South Carolina. At quarter-end, the company was under contract to acquire six properties for $106.5 million.

During the quarter, the company completed a three-for-two stock split, made in the form of a 50% stock dividend. The additional shares were distributed on Jan. 27. The company also approved a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share on a post-split basis. It was paid on April 26 to shareholders of record on April 14.

Based in Buffalo, N.Y., Life Storage operates more than 950 self-storage facilities in 33 states and Ontario, Canada. Its portfolio of owned and managed facilities comprises more than 69.9 million square feet.

National Storage Affiliates Trust (NSAT)

Core FFO per share was $0.49 during the first quarter, a 22.5% year-over-year increase. NSAT net income was $27.6 million, a 75.3% increase compared to the same period in 2020.

NSAT reported diluted earnings per share of $0.19 during the quarter. Same-store NOI was up 11.5%, driven primarily by an 8.1% increase in same-store revenue and partially offset by a .6% increase in same-store operating expenses.

As of March 31, same-store occupancy was 93.8%, an increase of 690 basis points from a year ago. Average annualized rental revenue per occupied square foot for same-store facilities was $12.47 during the quarter compared to $12.30 in 2020.

During the quarter, NSAT acquired 23 properties for about $166 million, adding approximately 1.5 million rentable square feet and 11,300 units to the company portfolio.

On Feb. 25, the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per common share, which was equal to the previous quarter. It was paid on March 31 to holders of record on March 15.

Headquartered in Greenwood, Colo., NSAT is a self-administered and -managed REIT focused on the acquisition, operation and ownership of self-storage properties within the top 100 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas throughout the United States. The company has ownership interest in 844 storage facilities in 36 states and Puerto Rico. Its portfolio comprises approximately 53.5 million net rentable square feet. It's owned by its affiliate operators, who are contributing their interests in their self-storage assets over the next few years as their current mortgage debt matures.

Public Storage Inc.

Revenue for same-store facilities at Public Storage increased 3.4%, or $21.1 million, over the same quarter in 2020, primarily due to higher realized annual rent per available square foot and weighted average square foot occupancy. Operations costs for same-store facilities decreased 4.3%, or $8.2 million, compared to the previous year. This was attributed primarily to an 8.6% ($6.2 million) decrease in property-tax expense and a 13.2% ($4.4 million) decrease in onsite-manager payroll, and partially offset by an increase in share-based compensation.

FFO was $3.08 per diluted common share, compared to $2.61 for the same period of 2020, marking a 18% increase. NOI increased $41.1 million, which was driven by a $29.3 million increase in same-store facilities and a $11.8 million increase from other facilities acquired in 2020 and 2021 as well as lease-up from recently developed and expanded properties.

During the quarter, Public Storage acquired 15 facilities across nine states for $203.1 million. The properties comprise 1.1 million net rentable square feet. The company also completed a development project in Virginia, adding 200,000 net rentable square feet to its portfolio for $45.4 million.

The company reported a regular common quarterly dividend of $2 per common share, which was equal to the previous quarter. It also declared dividends with respect to various series of preferred shares. All the dividends are payable on June 30 to shareholders of record as of June 15.

Based in Glendale, Calif., Public Storage has interests in 2,563 self-storage facilities in 38 states, with approximately 176 million net rentable square feet. It holds a 35% interest in Shurgard Self Storage SA, which has 243 facilities in seven European countries, with approximately 13 million net rentable square feet.

Sources:
CubeSmart, CubeSmart Reports First Quarter 2021 Results
Extra Space, Extra Space Storage Inc. Reports 2021 First Quarter Results
Life Storage, Life Storage Inc. Reports First Quarter 2021 Results
National Storage Affiliates Trust, National Storage Affiliates Trust Reports First Quarter 2021 Results
Public Storage, Public Storage Reports Results for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021