Prelease

A prelease is a lease commitment signed for data center capacity before the facility is completed — sometimes before construction begins. Preleasing lets tenants lock in scarce capacity and pricing years ahead of delivery, and lets developers secure financing against contracted revenue. In the current supply-constrained market, preleasing dominates: CBRE reported that roughly three-quarters of North America's 5,200+ MW under construction was preleased in 2025, with U.S. preleasing reaching about 81.5% by year-end and commitments extending to deliveries in 2027 and beyond. High prelease rates alongside vacancy under 2% signal that new supply is absorbed before it opens, sustaining upward pressure on rents. For colocation buyers, this means multi-year lead times for large blocks in primary markets.