Data center vacancies plummet amid power supply constraints

Colocation vacancy rates in North America dropped to an historic low during the first half of the year, according to JLL.

Dive Brief:

• Data center availability plummeted in North America during the first half of the year, according to JLL. Colocation vacancy rates dropped to an historic low of 2.3% across the region, dipping below 1% in the largest markets, including Northern Virginia, the commercial real estate investment firm said in a Monday report.
• A spike in demand for cloud and AI services has upended the market, driving up rents by 50% in the last five years even as supply in major regions has doubled or tripled, JLL found. With nearly three-quarters of the current pipeline under prelease agreements, the capacity crunch is expected to persist through 2027, the firm said.
• Enterprises are securing capacity 18 to 24 months in advance, sometimes even earlier, according to Matt Landek, JLL ...