CHICAGO—A robust demand for data center space continued throughout primary markets in the first half of 2015, according to a new study on the second quarter from CBRE. And new construction has kept pace with the demand. Users absorbed 94.8 MWs of critical power in the first two quarters alone, a rate that could match 2014 absorption levels. Providers have responded with 99.9 MWs of new construction deliveries since the beginning of 2015, and have another 184.4 MWs of inventory in the construction pipeline, up 76.6 MWs in the second quarter of 2014.

"On a macro level, the development out there is as good as it's ever been,” Chad Freese, a Chicago-based executive vice president at CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. “Companies have embraced the cloud as a solution for their IT platform,” and this has created much of the demand for new space by the cloud providers, especially in the primary colocation markets of New York/New Jersey, Northern Virginia, Chicago, Phoenix, Silicon Valley and Dallas.

“As a result of increased demand primary markets are reporting lower vacancy rates despite notable construction deliveries,” according to the CBRE study. “With the compression of vacancy rates across all markets, upticks in lease rates are occurring in some markets while others continue to hold firm on current rates.”