Stokley CRE Intelligence · Asset class
A structured view of the developments shaping data centers, and the situations those developments may create for owners, lenders and investors.
In short
North American data center vacancy sat near record lows in mid-2026: about 1% according to JLL and 1.4% in CBRE's primary markets, even as construction hit records. Power, permitting and local approval, not capital, now set the pace of new supply. That leaves smaller enterprise users and existing powered buildings in a tight spot, and that's where time-sensitive financing needs show up.
Current signals
~1%
JLL North America · third straight year · H1 2026
1.4%
CBRE · record low · H1 2026
80.4%
CBRE primary markets · H1 2026
500 kW–3 MW
JLL · a segment struggling to find space
Sourced market view · 01
Demand kept outrunning supply in the first half of 2026. JLL recorded a record 25 GW of absorption in North America, double the prior year, with vacancy holding at about 1% for a third straight year and 66 GW under construction, 95% of it pre-committed. CBRE's primary-market numbers point the same way: supply up 33.7% year over year to 10.9 GW, construction at a record 7,481 MW, and vacancy down to 1.4%.
Sourced market view · 02
The constraint moved. CBRE now describes community engagement and local approval as a development constraint on par with power procurement, alongside fiber. Utility power timelines are stretching in the largest markets, which makes buildings and sites with power already in place more valuable. Tenants signing today are largely contracting for 2028 deliveries.
Sourced market view · 03
Hyperscalers absorb most of the new capacity in large blocks, often years ahead. Enterprise users with 500 kW to 3 MW needs, and the owners of smaller powered buildings that could serve them, are left competing for scraps. Conversions of existing industrial buildings with usable power and fiber have become one of the faster ways to bring small-block capacity online, but they need capital before the tenant, the power upgrade or the permanent loan is in place.
Stokley analysis
We don't finance hyperscale campuses; they sit far outside our credit box. Our interest is the smaller end: edge and colocation facilities, powered shells, and industrial buildings being converted for data use, where a first-position loan of $1M–$5M bridges a real gap. On these deals we look first at the power actually available and when, the fiber, the capex to reach the target spec, and the tenant plan. A strong national market doesn't make a weak site work, and a bank's timeline often doesn't match the power or leasing timeline.
Opportunity lens
Buying an industrial building with usable utility power and fiber ahead of a data conversion, on a timeline a bank won't meet.
Projects partway through a conversion that need capital to finish electrical, cooling or backup power before permanent financing.
Existing edge or colocation facilities too small or too specialized for a conventional lender to size quickly, including maturities and partner buyouts.
Questions answered
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Stokley Capital evaluates $1M–$5M acquisition, refinance, bridge, transitional and rescue situations nationwide. Send us the property, capital need and timeline.