North American Data Center Demand Continues to Outpace Supply Despite Record Construction Activity

Surging demand has left the North American data center market with less available capacity despite record construction activity, according to CBRE's latest North American Data Center Trends Report.

Northern Virginia remained North America's largest data center market in the first half of 2026, expanding its inventory by more than 1 gigawatt (GW) over the past year to 4,496.5 megawatts (MW). The market also recorded the highest level of net absorption among all primary North American markets^* at 467.6 MW, driving vacancy down to 0.2% from 0.7% a year ago.

Available capacity declined to 10.8 MW, highlighting continued demand from could, enterprise and AI-driven occupiers. At the same time, Northern Virginia maintained one of the industry's largest development pipelines with 2,420.2 MW under construction, representing a 16.5% increase from a year earlier.

"Power is the deciding factor in Northern Virginia right now," said Stu Dyer, Executive Vice President with CBRE's Data Center Solutions Group. "Available capacity fell to just 10.8 megawatts, and net absorption hit 467.6 megawatts, the most of any primary market in North America. Occupiers and capital sources that secure power early are the ones closing deals."

After power-related project delays briefly softened activity at the end of last year, new construction rose 24.8% across the eight primary North American Data Center Markets^* in the first half of 2026. The 7,481 megawatts (MW) under construction in H1 2026 surpassed the previous high reached in 2024. Although power constraints are extending completion timelines, more projects are moving from the planning stage into construction.

More than 80% of all capacity under construction is already preleased, up from 74.3% a year ago. This leaves less than 1,500 MW available for pre-leasing across North America's primary markets. At the current pace of demand, that equates to roughly six months of supply.

Total data center supply across North America's primary markets grew 33.7% year-over-year to a record 10.9 megawatts (MW). Meanwhile, net absorption – the amount of space newly occupied minus the amount newly vacated - increased by nearly 12% to 1,456 MW. Vacancy held steady at 1.4% compared with year-end 2025.

As available inventory dwindles, occupiers are facing higher costs across the board. Average asking rents rose for every major deployment size in the first six months of the year, led by an 8.3% increase for users seeking between 3 MW and 10 MW of capacity.

CBRE expects market conditions to remain tight as power constraints, infrastructure bottlenecks and strong AI-driven demand limit the pace at which new capacity can reach the market.

See here for the full report.