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In the big REIT world, there is a small sub-sector that does well in all economic conditions but does especially well during times when the average Joe is struggling economically. When folks lose their jobs or homes, the self-storage industry is there to provide a low-cost storage solution until these individuals get back on their feet.

Actually, self-storage has been a top performing commercial real estate sector through the full range of the economic cycle. This chart shows that, over the 20-year period from 1994 to 2014, the REITs in this sector have both out-performed and done so with lower volatility in comparison to the other REIT sectors.

Several factors will allow the self-storage companies to continue to provide excellent total returns for investors. The primary growth driver will be the ongoing opportunities for consolidation. There are over 50,000 self-storage properties in the U.S. with 30,000 different owners. The five publicly traded self-storage REITs own just 14% of the total self-storage space. The public self-storage companies are the name brands that attract storage users.

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When one of these companies buys privately owned units, they can quickly improve efficiencies and marketing through their integrated systems. For the private owner of self-storage properties a deal to sell can be a win-win. The self-storage REITs can afford to pay the owner a premium price. The purchaser can then take over the properties, install their national marketing and management systems to improve the profitability above the levels possible for a private owner.

Self-storage REIT shares should be viewed as total return investments. Current yields are not high but historic and projected dividend growth rates are. The accelerating dividend will fuel capital gains and add in the dividends earned and you will get market-beating total returns. While the sector has just a few stocks, you can choose from a diverse group that has investment grade, large-cap, and multi-national companies to a recent IPO that is growing rapidly.