The Underline: Reflections, Wins, and What’s Next

Built on Values.
Sold by Results.
Driven by Relationships.

Wrap it up and put a bow on it. 2025 has been one for the books! This year gave us plenty to navigate, plenty to refine, and plenty to be grateful for. Through it all, we stayed anchored in our core values: believe big, take ownership, do the right thing, execute with excellence, and fail forward.

A MARKET THAT KEPT US ON OUR TOES.

After a long wait, interest rates finally started moving in the right direction. Prime rate sits at 7.00% today, down from 7.75% a year ago, which brought a little enthusiasm back, even if real rental traction has not fully followed yet.

The government shutdown stretched on longer than anyone wanted and even with all that noise, the 10 year Treasury barely moved. It is 4.16% today compared to 4.20% last year.

According to Green Street, self storage values have fallen 22% from their peak after rising 69% through March 2022.

AI also entered the chat and it is not leaving any time soon.

Yet here is the real story.

Society has embraced the new normal and deals are getting done again. Sellers are more realistic. Buyers are more optimistic. The market is starting to feel like itself again.

SOME BIG WINS WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR.

This November, our team closed five facilities in ten days. We are deeply thankful to the owners who trusted us with their properties and their futures.

We also celebrated the resolution of an eight-year eminent domain battle with the Georgia DOT. Many of you remember when Jane served as the expert witness in 2024. We are thrilled to share that the client is receiving 30 times more than the original low offer. Doing the right thing matters and this win meant a lot.

We grew our family too.

Both as a company and at home.

We welcomed Wilson Covington earlier this year to the Sauls CRE team and CJ Stratte this month, expanding into Texas and strengthening our commitment to serving storage owners with excellence and heart.

And in the Sauls family:

• Connor G (he’s 2 years old now) became a big brother to Bennett

• Luke and his wife welcomed sweet Beau

Our hearts are very full.

A SEASON OF REFLECTION

December is always a month of gratitude for us.

We genuinely appreciate every single one of you. Our clients, partners, friends, and readers mean more to us than you know. Yes, we notice that you click, download, and open our resources and listing links. It makes our hearts smile knowing we get to show up in your season in a meaningful way.

And because you ask for them every year, we have included links to this year and past years Christmas card recipes. They come straight from Mike Patterson’s family kitchen. These are special and we love sharing them.

LOOKING TOWARD 2026

We are soaking in the last days of 2025 and making intentional moves for the year ahead. Just a reminder that nothing magical happens when the calendar flips. Success comes from what we build day by day.

Stay tuned for our January update. We have thoughts and insights ready for you.

STAY CONNECTED

For the personal and the professional and all things storage, follow Jane on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. It is where business updates, kitchen stories, celebrations, and grandbabies all live together. Just the way we like it.

From all of us at Sauls Commercial Real Estate, Merry Christmas and thank you for trusting us. Your relationship is the greatest gift of all.

– Sauls Commercial Real Estate