Financial research concept

Data Center Pre-Leased Development Percentage: Construction Already Committed

Data center pre-leased development percentage measures the share of capacity under construction already committed to customers, helping investors assess lease-up risk before delivery.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 20, 2026
Research context

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Research date
Sep 20, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context
12 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Data Center Operating Model; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples
1 reviewed companyRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.
  1. Pre-leasing shows how much construction has demand attached
  2. Pre-leased is not yet in-place rent
  3. Compare scope and timing carefully
  4. Primary-source examples
  5. Part of the Data Center Operating Model
  6. See It in Company Research
  7. Continue Research

Data center pre-leased development percentage measures the share of capacity under construction that has already been committed to customers under the issuer's development definition.

It is a development de-risking measure, not an operating occupancy rate.

Pre-leasing shows how much construction has demand attached

Digital Realty reported that 61% of its 1,169 megawatts of projects underway was pre-leased as of March 31, 2026.

A higher pre-leased share can reduce lease-up risk because more of the future capacity already has contracted demand before completion.

A lower percentage leaves more capacity available for future bookings but creates greater exposure to market conditions at delivery.

Pre-leased is not yet in-place rent

A signed lease may not commence until construction, fit-out, power delivery, and customer readiness are complete.

That means pre-leased development can contribute to Data Center Signed-Not-Commenced Backlog before it contributes to annualized in-place rent.

Compare scope and timing carefully

The percentage can change because of new leases, additional projects entering the construction pipeline, project completions, or acquisitions.

It should therefore be interpreted together with capacity under construction and the reporting date.

Primary-source examples

Data center pre-leased development percentage is most useful as a construction lease-up risk measure. Read it with megawatts under construction, commencement timing, backlog, and expected development returns.

Part of the Data Center Operating Model

Connect bookings, in-place rent, utilization, interconnection, renewal pricing, signed-not-commenced backlog, development capacity, pre-leasing, future buildable capacity, stabilized yield, construction cabinets, and commencement timing to understand data-center growth economics.

How the model fits together
  • Capacity and recurring monetization: Cabinet utilization shows how much Equinix cabinet capacity is billed. Digital Realty annualized rent and Equinix interconnection revenue are separate recurring-revenue lenses, so they add monetization context without forming a standardized cross-company formula.
  • Bookings, backlog, and repricing: Equinix Annualized Gross Bookings capture near-term recurring revenue expected to start within 90 days, while Digital Realty signed-not-commenced backlog captures future annualized GAAP base rent awaiting lease commencement. Renewal rental-rate change then shows repricing on expiring Digital Realty leases. These measures describe different stages and must not be treated as interchangeable.
  • Development capacity and lease conversion: Capacity under construction and sellable cabinets under construction show near-term supply being built, while future development capacity shows longer-dated buildable runway. Pre-leased development percentage shows how much construction is already spoken for, estimated stabilized development yield frames expected economics at maturity, and signed-lease commencement lag shows how quickly bookings convert into in-place rent. These issuer-defined measures add development and lease-conversion context rather than forming a standardized cross-company formula.

See It in Company Research

These companies are examples of how the concept is reported or discussed in public filings. Definitions can differ by issuer; these links open company research rather than a normalized metric comparison.

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