The United States is home to the majority of the world’s data centers, with more than 2,800. The next closest country is the United Kingdom, with fewer than 400, according to Data Center Map.
Data centers are the physical backbone of internet infrastructure, supporting cloud computing and artificial intelligence capabilities.
Land values where data centers are slated to be built are now skyrocketing, reaching 10 times the original price in one case in Vint Hill, Virginia.
Pat Lynch, managing director of digital infrastructure at commercial real estate brokerage CBRE, told CNBC that demand was already strong, but has recently skyrocketed thanks to the rise of digitization and AI.
Private equity funds have taken notice.
“It’s interesting that when we look at our global business today, not just in real estate but across the entire company, we see data centers as the most interesting asset class,” Nadeem Meghji, global co-head of Blackstone Real Estate, said on CNBC.The cry in the street“in May.
Landowners are now seeing their property values skyrocket due to their proximity to grid access points.
“We find that land is more valuable when it’s located on a power line that’s appropriate for the needs of a data center,” said Rachel Wacker, executive director of the Greater Dallas County Development Alliance. “My experience working with data centers is that they value that and they will negotiate aggressively to get that land.”
Watch video above to learn more about how data centers have become a multi-billion dollar real estate market.
