- Investor commitment remains near record highs, with 41% allocating $500M+ to the sector in 2025, up from 30% last year.
- Hyperscale build-to-suit dominates, identified by 49% of respondents as the top investment opportunity for the next 12–24 months.
- Power infrastructure constraints have overtaken debt costs as the biggest challenge, cited by 39% of respondents.
Investor confidence in the data center sector remains robust in 2025, reports CBRE. Surging demand for artificial intelligence workloads and cloud expansion is driving this growth. CBRE’s survey of 92 major investors shows capital flows staying near record highs. Most investors favor opportunistic, large-scale developments over stabilized assets.
A Shift In Priorities
Last year’s top concern was the availability and cost of debt. This has fallen sharply, with only 10% of respondents citing it as their main challenge. Instead, regulations and power supply limitations have become the key bottlenecks for growth, especially as hyperscale operators demand massive power capacity.
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The Numbers
- 95% of investors plan to increase data center allocations this year; none plan to reduce.
- 41% will invest $500M–$2B+, up from 30% in 2024.
- Opportunistic and new development strategies remain dominant at 62%, while only 7% prefer core stabilized assets.
- Turnkey hyperscale is the most preferred market segment (42%), followed by powered shell (28%).
Global Highlights
- North America: Asset sales dropped more than 50% YoY in H1 2025 due to delays and power constraints, but major deals—including OpenAI’s $500B Stargate AI project—signal a strong rebound ahead.
- Europe: Joint ventures and asset-backed securities are gaining traction despite high borrowing costs.
- Asia-Pacific: AI-related demand is driving expansion, with Japan, Malaysia, and India as hotspots.
- Latin America: Brazil and Chile lead in renewable-powered AI data centers, with billion-dollar projects underway.
Why It Matters
Branded, AI-ready, and hyperscale facilities are now clear differentiators in the data center investment space. With average premiums for the best assets and a growing global footprint, the sector is positioned to remain a magnet for institutional capital.
What’s Next
CBRE expects activity to accelerate in the second half of 2025. Delayed deals will close, power supply projects will advance, and new hyperscale developments will hit the market.
