DALLAS-FORT WORTH – As the COVID-19 crisis took shape, the data center industry was an early beneficiary, according to CBRE. North Texas was no exception.
The first quarter saw 11.5 megawatts (MW) of net absorption across the metro as companies ramped up cloud requirements, network bandwidth, and remote computing capabilities in order to support the infrastructure required for a productive remote workforce.
As companies scrambled to respond to COVID-19, leasing activity slowed significantly in 2Q2020, which saw only 2.98 MW of net absorption.
However, with a number of large requirements currently in the market, it is likely that there will be some improvement in leasing velocity over the second half of this year.
Local vacancy decreased in the first half of 2020 from 19.2 percent to 17.6 percent, the lowest vacancy in the market since 2018. Construction also slowed to 15 MW of projects underway.
Dallas is well positioned as one of the lowest-cost markets in the world for Class A data center space.
CBRE expects the sector to continue to benefit from increased demand.
The Real Estate Center has more on DFW’s industrial market: