CBRE's North America Data Center Trends, H2 2025 report found that despite record levels of new data center construction underway across North America, absorption rates are outpacing deliveries and vacancy rates remain at historic lows. Markets including Northern Virginia, Phoenix, and Chicago are adding millions of square feet of capacity, yet pre-leasing activity is filling space before buildings open. The supply-demand gap is pushing rents higher and extending lead times for available powered shell.
Record construction activity failing to relieve capacity constraints shows that demand growth is structurally outrunning even accelerated development cycles, a condition that will keep colocation pricing elevated and delay enterprise and hyperscaler expansion plans for the foreseeable term. This dynamic affects capital allocation decisions across the entire data center investment chain.
CBRE's North America Data Center Trends H2 2025 report cited with specific edition named; the news hook is the capacity crunch finding, not merely the report's existence. Selected over the GIS Reports 'hidden debt' construction piece because CBRE's named report and specific market findings provide greater specificity and industry relevance.