The first time total new capacity under construction has declined since 2020
The total amount of new capacity under construction in primary US data center markets has declined for the first time since 2020, according to research from CBRE.
At the end of 2025, there was 5.9GW of capacity under construction, down from 6.3GW in 2024. CBRE said that many planned projects are suffering delays due to permitting, zoning, and power procurement issues.
Primary Markets Net Absorption, Preleasing & Under Construction – Source: CBRE Research, CBRE Data Center Solutions, H2 2025
This has become a recurring theme in 2025 market analysis. There have been various reports of similar struggles with securing new capacity in primary markets, with secondary markets picking up the slack. For example, a recent report from JLL identified Texas as a potential contender to take the title of the world’s largest data center market by 2030.
CBRE’s report showed that in 2025 several primary markets saw a downturn in under-construction totals compared to 2024, including Northern Virginia (-29 percent); Hillsboro, Oregon (-15 percent); Silicon Valley (-14 percent); and Atlanta (-four percent).
Phoenix and the New York Tri-State area saw no change, while Dallas-Fort Worth increased by 15 percent.
Meanwhile, Chicago saw a massive 169 percent rise in under-construction totals year-on-year.
Overall primary market supply increased by 36 percent year-on-year to 9.3GW.
Data center absorption, the net growth in occupied, revenue-producing IT load, rose in all markets year-over-year, from 1.8GW in 2024 to 2.5GW in 2025. Northern Virginia led the primary markets in absorption, with 1.1GW.
Dallas-Fort Worth absorbed 470MW, up by 424MW year-over-year. CBRE said this underscored the region’s growing appeal to hyperscale users.
According to CBRE, overall vacancy rates fell to a record low of 1.4 percent by the end of 2025, with reduced inventory limiting large-scale deployments. This has resulted in increased pre-leasing and off-market activity. The firm expects vacancy rates to remain at record lows as new supply limitations persist.
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