Global data center demand remains high in Q1, according to a report by real estate firm CBRE.

The Global Data Center Trends 2025 report looks at developments in the top four markets in four regions: North America (Northern Virginia, Chicago, Phoenix, Atlanta); Europe (London, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam); Asia-Pacific (Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney) and Latin America (Sao Paulo, Santiago, Queretaro, Bogota).

These markets were chosen on the basis of “total inventory, vacancy rates, net absorption, pricing and rental rates, and availability.”

The report claims that the average vacancy rates across these sixteen markets have reached a record low of 6.6 percent, down 2.1 percent year-on-year (YoY). North America maintains the lowest average vacancy rate at 2.3 percent, followed by Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. Amongst the markets surveyed, the most precipitous drop in vacancy rates was in Paris, going from 16.1 percent to 7.7 percent YoY.

Leasing activity is also up, with North America leading in net absorption. This is typically calculated by subtracting the total amount of space vacated from the total amount leased within a period of time, giving an indication of demand.

The report claims that 1,668.5MW worth of net absorption occurred between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025, which is double the amount from the previous one-year period. Europe saw 300.4MW in net absorption, which is the second highest in its history.

CBRE attributes this to “aggressive preleasing and extending new construction timelines to 2027 and beyond.” Constrained supply forces companies to “lock in space early, leading to historically high net absorption.”

This is despite the fact that all regions saw an expansion in inventory, with North America leading the charge with a 43 percent YoY increase in the amount of capacity added. Northern Virginia remains the largest market in the world by capacity, and Atlanta added more than triple the amount of capacity that it had added in Q1 2024.

But limited power availability means that rental rates continue to climb in North America and Europe. Chicago, Northern Virginia, and Atlanta saw YoY increases of 14.7 percent, 15 percent, and 13 percent, respectively. In London, the rental range per kW per month has increased to a range of $180 to $215, up from $160 to $195 one year ago. Rates were broadly stable in Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

The combination of these factors has driven growth in several new hotspots. Pat Lynch, executive managing director of CBRE’s Data Center Solutions, said: “As supply tightens in core markets, we’re seeing rapid growth and investor interest in emerging markets, which are becoming central to global deployment strategies.”

Atlanta and Phoenix, which are, respectively, the second and third largest markets by capacity in North America, displaced Dallas and Silicon Valley for the first time. Two other markets of note are Santiago, Chile, and Mumbai, India.