Global Data Center Supply Can’t Keep Up with Demand, Resulting in Extreme Scarcity of Available Space

The global data center market is expanding as demand from artificial intelligence (AI) uses outpaces available space capacity, pushing vacancy rates toward historic lows despite a wave of new supply, according to CBRE’s Global Data Center Trends report.

Global supply reached 16 gigawatts (GW) in Q1 2026 across the 16 largest data center markets, up 25% over the past year. Even with supply growth in all major regions, average vacancy fell to 6.7% from 8.3% a year earlier, indicating tightening market conditions worldwide.

“Across the globe, demand is outpacing even aggressive new supply increases, which means companies can no longer assume capacity will be available when they need it,” said Pat Lynch, Executive Managing Director, CBRE Data Center Solutions. “Occupiers are having to secure space earlier, take what’s available from a capacity standpoint and prioritize markets with dependable power to support long-term growth.”

Northern Virginia, Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago anchor U.S. growth, collectively adding 1,950.8 megawatts (MW) of new space since Q1 2025 – a 33% gain that marks the fourth consecutive year of double-digit percentage growth. This new supply has been quickly absorbed, pushing vacancy to extremely low levels, including 0.3% in Northern Virginia and 1.8% in Dallas-Fort Worth. Strong leasing activity from large AI rollouts drove record absorption (2,236.2 MW), up 34% year over year.

Similar supply-demand dynamics are unfolding globally: In Latin America, inventory across São Paulo; Bogotá; Querétaro, Mexico; and Santiago, Chile increased by 41% over the past year to 1,045 MW, yet strong demand from large cloud and AI users is quickly absorbing new space. In Europe, demand increased by 90% compared with Q1 2025 levels, led by Frankfurt and London, further tightening already constrained markets. Across Asia-Pacific, availability declined by nearly half over the past year to 248.4 MW, with large blocks of space increasingly difficult to secure in markets such as Singapore.

Top Global Data Center Markets by Inventory

AI demand is prompting occupiers to seek out larger facilities to support high-performance computing. However, the construction pipeline does not provide substantial supply relief. As of Q4 2025, 80% of the space under construction in the top four U.S. markets was already preleased, further limiting near-term availability.

At the same time, power availability and grid-infrastructure constraints are shaping where and how quickly new facilities can be built, particularly in major hubs such as Northern Virginia, Chicago, London and Frankfurt. In the U.S., longer construction timelines will limit data center supply through 2030.

These dynamics are pushing prices higher. Chicago has the highest rental rates among major U.S. markets as of Q1 2026, ranging from $200 to $230 per kW per month for a 250-to-500-kW requirement, with rents increasing 14.7% from the previous year.

“Limited power, land and infrastructure are slowing development and keeping vacancy near zero in some key U.S. markets,” said Gordon Dolven, CBRE Head of Data Center Research, Americas. “These supply constraints will push pricing higher and shift new investment toward markets that can scale quickly.”