- Vacancy rates plummet as data centers struggle to match unprecedented demand
- Northern Virginia dominates capacity while emerging markets grow at an explosive pace
- Developers rush projects, yet 73% of new capacity is already preleased
Data centers are becoming the backbone of digital infrastructure, with vacancy rates in North America now at an all-time low of 2.3%, new JLL research has claimed.
Despite inventory reaching 15.5GW in mid-2025, the pace of absorption continues to outstrip available capacity.
This mismatch is fueled by surging reliance on AI, digital transformation, and cloud storage services, which have created a supply crunch across both established and emerging markets.
Demand rising faster than supply
JLL claims North America could see as much as $1 trillion in new data center development by 2030.
“There was a significant increase in the amount of capital deployed into data center projects under construction or reaching stabilization in the first half of 2025 compared to the previous year,” said Carl Beardsley, Senior Managing Director, Data Center Leader, JLL Capital Markets.
“We’re seeing developments with long-term leases achieving up to 85% loan-to-cost from senior lenders at competitive spreads… North America could see $1 trillion of data center development between 2025 and 2030.”
Also, more than 100GW of colocation and hyperscale capacity is expected to break ground or come online within the next five years.
Though construction is rushed to meet rising demand, 73% of these projects are preleased, leaving limited flexibility for enterprises seeking new space.
Northern Virginia leads with a planned 5.9GW, followed by Phoenix at 4.2GW, Dallas-Fort Worth at 3.9GW, and Las Vegas/Reno at 3.5GW.
Secondary markets are also experiencing striking growth. Columbus has expanded 1,800% since 2020, while Austin/San Antonio has grown 500% from a smaller base over the same period.
This spread reflects developers seeking new opportunities as established hubs struggle with power constraints and rising costs.
“The days of build-it-and-they-will-come are long gone. What we’re seeing now is ‘commit-before-it’s-built-or-you-won’t-get-in,’” said Matt Landek, Division President, U.S. Data Center Work Dynamics and the lead of JLL’s Data Center Project Development and Services.
Power availability has become the defining challenge for data center development, as the average commercial electricity rates have risen nearly 30% since 2020, reaching 9.7 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Developers are increasingly targeting areas such as Salt Lake City and Denver, where rates remain below the national average.
Even so, the wait time for grid connections is now roughly four years, delaying projects and slowing the pace at which supply can meet demand.
Industry analysts argue power is now “the new real estate,” with access to affordable and reliable energy dictating where capacity can expand.
“Power has become the new real estate. With vacancy effectively at 0%, virtually all absorption is the result of preleasing with delivery times extending beyond 12 months,” said Andrew Batson, Head of U.S. Data Center Research at JLL.
“The market has been growing at a remarkable 20% CAGR since 2017, and our development pipeline data suggests this pace will continue through 2030, with the colocation market potentially expanding to 42GW of capacity.”
This bottleneck may prevent speculative overbuilding but also ensures that shortages will persist for years.
Via HPC Wire
