Argus Self Storage Sales Network, a Denver-based network of real estate brokers who specialize in storage properties, recently completed four property sales in Georgia that provide evidence of a shift in Southeast-area investing from primary to secondary and tertiary markets, according to a company press release. The four facilities comprise 115,000 rentable square feet and sold for a combined $5.5 million. Three of the properties are in tertiary rural markets, with the fourth in a small secondary market within the Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area, the release stated.
“Now is a great time for owners in smaller markets to sell quality product,” said Mike Patterson, the Argus affiliate for Georgia who brokered the transactions. Patterson added that small to mid-sized facilities in secondary and tertiary markets are drawing strong interest from individual investors with Small Business Administration funding and private-equity backing.
Of the four deals, the strongest was for Patterson Storage (no relation to the broker) in Jackson, Ga., a small town about 50 miles south of Atlanta. The 49,000-square-foot facility on 5 acres closed at a 7.25 percent capitalization (cap) rate, according to the release. The other properties were a 29,000-square-foot facility in Danielsville, Ga., a 26,000-square-foot asset in Rockmart, Ga., and an 11,000-square-foot facility in Carrollton, Ga. Those closed at cap rates of 9.5 percent to 11 percent. All four were stabilized facilities with good occupancy numbers, the release stated.
Formed in 1994, Argus has 36 broker affiliates covering nearly 40 markets.