Introduction –The Rise of a New Core Asset Class
Every time you stream a video, check your email, or use a cloud application, data is being stored and processed in a physical building somewhere. That building is a data center, and it has become one of the most asset classes in commercial real estate today.
The rapid acceleration of cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital transformation has positioned data centers as one of the fastest-growing asset classes in commercial real estate (CRE). Once considered niche infrastructure, data centers are now viewed as mission-critical real assets, attracting institutional investors, private equity firms, and sovereign wealth funds at an unprecedented scale.
The commercial real estate industry has seen plenty of "next big things." Co-working, logistics, life sciences — each had its moment. But nothing in recent memory compares to what is happening in the data center sector. Since ChatGPT launched in late 2022, completed data center projects have grown roughly 220%, while all other real estate development is up less than 10%. Debt financing for the sector has climbed from $92 billion in 2024 to $182 billion in 2025, and private transactions now routinely exceed $10 billion.
According to industry research, global data center capacity is expected to grow at a double-digit CAGR of 14% through 2030, equating to $1.2 trillion in real estate asset value creation.
The Americas is the largest Data center region, representing about 50% of global capacity. Global data center demand continues to surge, fueled by hyperscale’s, colocation providers, and enterprise digitalization.
The Future of Data Center Growth and Infrastructure
The Role of Data Centers in Commercial Real Estate
From niche infrastructure to the dominant force in CRE capital allocation — what investors, developers, and advisors need to know
Data center markets evolve rapidly, with demand driven by hyperscaler expansion, AI adoption, cloud growth, and power availability.
Investment teams must continuously track supply pipelines, absorption trends, pricing movements, and emerging markets to identify opportunities before competitors do. Fragmented information sources make it difficult to maintain a current and comprehensive market view.
Power has become the defining constraint in data center development and valuation.
Investors must evaluate grid capacity, substation access, utility timelines, renewable energy availability, and transmission risks, all of which can materially impact project feasibility and returns. Assessing these factors requires specialized expertise beyond traditional real estate analysis.
Data center transactions require extensive due diligence across financial, operational, technical, and commercial dimensions.
Investors must evaluate customer concentration, lease structures, capacity utilization, operating performance, capital expenditure requirements, and growth assumptions under tight deal timelines. Resource constraints often limit the depth and speed of analysis.
Investors face increasing scrutiny around the environmental impact of data centers, particularly energy consumption, carbon emissions, water usage, and renewable energy sourcing.
Regulatory requirements and investor expectations continue to evolve, making ESG assessment a critical part of investment decision-making.
The economics of data center assets are influenced by numerous interdependent variables, including power density, occupancy ramp-up, pricing assumptions, tenant mix, expansion potential, and operating costs.
Developing robust valuation models and testing multiple scenarios can be time-consuming and resource-intensive for deal teams.
Benchmarking data center assets against peers is challenging due to limited transparency, unique operating models, and varying market conditions.
Investors need reliable intelligence on operator performance, pricing, capacity utilization, development pipelines, and strategic positioning to accurately assess relative value and competitive advantage.
Data center presence in the continental US
"Data centers are emerging in more remote locations, where power is still abundant and grids less strained."
Source: McKinsey
The future of US hyperscale data centers | McKinsey
The Future of Data Centers in CRE
The structural case for data centers in real estate portfolios has never been stronger — and the next five years will likely be the most consequential period the sector has seen.
For investors, the sector offers attractive long-term fundamentals characterized by strong demand, resilient occupancy levels, long-duration leases, and opportunities for value creation through development and redevelopment strategies.
How Evalueserve Helps Data Center Investors and Advisors
We help investors accelerate decision-making and improve deal outcomes through specialized research and analytics support. By combining sector expertise with scalable execution, we help clients reduce underwriting and diligence turnaround times by 30-50%, accelerate deal screening by 40%+, and support transaction execution during peak workloads, enabling faster, higher-confidence investment decisions.
A Win-Win Vision
Conclusion – A Partnership of Potential
Data centers have moved from the periphery of commercial real estate to its center of gravity. The numbers are not an anomaly — they reflect a fundamental, long-cycle shift in how the world stores, processes, and moves information. For real estate investors, that shift creates opportunity. It also creates a mandate to develop new capabilities: in market intelligence, in financial modeling, in understanding power infrastructure, and in evaluating technology-driven tenants.
At Evalueserve, we work alongside investment teams to build exactly those capabilities — quickly, accurately, and at the scale the market demands. Whether you are evaluating your first data center deal or expanding an existing portfolio, the analytical foundation matters.
If you’re evaluating data center opportunities, partnering with experienced advisors who understand the market deeply can mean the difference between projects that deliver exceptional returns and those that face costly delays or setbacks.
Sources
Data Center Market Size, Share & Growth Report, 2026-2033
https://www.cbre.com/insights/reports/global-data-center-trends-2026
https://www.jll.com/en-us/insights/market-outlook/data-center-outlook
https://www.costar.com/article/1120462958/real-estates-new-center-of-gravity-data-centers
The future of US hyperscale data centers | McKinsey
https://www.bain.com/insights/ai-data-center-forecast-from-scramble-to-strategy-snap-chart/
https://www.nmrk.com/insights/market-report/2025-us-data-center-market-outlook
