Self Storage Feasibility Study in Idaho

Idaho self storage: more than twice the national concentration

Idaho shows 54 self storage loans from FY2017 to FY2026, with $71.5 million approved. The location quotient of 2.13x is the key figure: the state's share of these loans is more than twice the national share, and self storage is 13 of 39 among Idaho's classes. The state ranks 18 of 50 for the class. The median loan of $619,000 equals 0.67x the all-states median for the class; the inner half of loans runs $341,750 to $1.9 million, so these are real estate loans of substantial size, not working-capital advances.

A true 504 market

The mix is nearly even: 28 loans are SBA 7(a) and 26 are SBA 504; franchised borrowers account for 1.9%. East-Central Idaho Development Company leads the 504 list with 7 loans and $4.8 million, and Capital Matrix, Inc. follows with 5 loans and $2.8 million. On the 7(a) side, Glacier Bank has 9 loans and $7.5 million and Live Oak Banking Company 6 loans and $18.2 million. Live Oak's dollars per loan are the highest in the cell, which marks it as the lender for large storage projects. A developer should expect that a ground-up facility will likely run through a 504 structure while an acquisition may go through a 7(a) specialist.

Idaho's RV and boat storage hides inside this class, because that use lacks a code of its own and gets filed as self storage or other warehousing. A fenced lot of boat slips and a climate-controlled building are the same line in this data, yet their economics differ greatly. A borrower must therefore benchmark against the right product type and not against the blended file.

Completion, losses and the Idaho study

Cancellation is a floor of 15.7% for the FY2017 to FY2024 cohort, and 19.6% as a ceiling counting undisbursed loans, a gap that suggests many approved projects were still in construction. Idaho's seasoned cohort holds under 30 loans, hence the loss rate is blank, and no zero is implied. A study should test demand through supply per capita in the trade area, growth in households and the pipeline of competing facilities, since storage is built quickly and rent falls when it overbuilds. Cost must cover land, site work and the unit mix. Coverage should assume slow lease-up. The valuation should value a stabilized and an as-is case. The yearly record is the caution: 14 loans and $27.1 million in FY2021, but only 1 loan in FY2024, 2 in FY2025 and 1 in FY2026. Counties include Canyon with 7 loans and Bonner and Kootenai with 6 each.