A report from CBRE has revealed that the North American data center market is experiencing record growth, driven by demand from artificial intelligence development, cloud computing, e-commerce, and more. The market set records across nearly every major indicator last year, including the absorption rate of 2,497.6 megawatts in 2025, up 38% from 2024, and the vacancy rate fell to a historic low of 1.4%, despite a 36% increase in total capacity. Gordon Dolven, CBRE’s data center research director, said the data center industry is an anomaly compared to other commercial real estate classes. The report suggests that big tech companies like Google are driving most demand. Construction activity has decreased for the first time since 2020, and CBRE attributes this to permitting, zoning and power procurement hurdles.