Vacancy rate

Vacancy rate is the share of a data center market's built, powered capacity — measured in MW or square feet — that is unleased and available for a new tenant to move into, as tracked quarterly by brokers such as CBRE, JLL and Cushman & Wakefield across primary markets. It differs from a simple occupancy count because it typically excludes capacity that is under construction or merely planned; only commissioned, ready-to-lease space counts against the denominator. Primary North American and European markets have run at record-low vacancy — commonly cited below 5%, and under 2% in Northern Virginia — through 2025-2026 as AI-driven wholesale demand consistently outpaces new supply, a dynamic that has pushed wholesale asking rents up double digits year over year in several markets and pulled forward pre-leasing of capacity that has not yet broken ground. A market's vacancy rate is one of the clearest signals of near-term pricing power for landlords versus tenants in a region.