- Nearly 540 U.S. land sites transacted in the first quarter of 2026. 42% are slated for multifamily development, spanning garden-style, high-rise, and townhouse buildings. Another 14% are planned for mixed-use projects, with most including a multifamily component.
- Data center sites tell a much different story: they represent just 3% of all development transactions yet account for 30% of total dollar volume. Four of the 10 largest sales in the first quarter are planned as data center developments, headlined by an over-$1-billion site in San Antonio and a major purchase by Blackstone in Berwick, Pennsylvania.
- The demand for computing power driven by Artificial Intelligence grows by the day, and developers are willing to pay a premium for land that offers the space and electrical capacity needed to build data centers that can support this demand. At the same time, multifamily developers — though operating at different price points — are equally as motivated, actively pursuing sites that can help ease the nation's persistent housing shortage, even as construction costs continue to climb.
Quantity versus quality: More U.S. multifamily land sales, bigger data center price tags
June 1, 2026
