SIDEWAYS TREND IN OFFICE LEASING MARKET CONTINUES
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By the end of the third quarter, office take-up across Germany’s key office markets of Berlin, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Leipzig, and Munich totaled just under 2.0 million sqm, broadly in line with the previous year’s level (-1.6%). Berlin, Munich, and Düsseldorf stood out with double-digit growth rates. At the same time, most markets reported increasing take-up in the third quarter, albeit from comparatively low levels.
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With 541,000 sqm of office take-up, Berlin maintained its clear lead among the office markets after the first nine months of the year. The result represents an impressive 49% increase year-on-year, marking a return to long-term average levels. Munich completed the leading duo with 485,000 sqm (+19% year-on-year), benefiting not only from major transactions concluded in the first half of the year but also from very strong leasing activity in the mid-sized segment. While Frankfurt (300,000 sqm) and Hamburg (270,000 sqm) were unable to match their good and very strong prior-year results, respectively, both markets recorded a moderate pick-up in momentum in q3. Düsseldorf, delivered a standout third quarter as well. At 99,000 sqm, it posted its strongest quarterly result since Q2 2022. As a result, take-up in Düsseldorf reached 198,000 sqm by the end of September, representing a 28% increase y-o-y. The Cologne market continued to move sideways quarter on quarter at a low level, recording 107,000 sqm of office take-up by the end of September (-39.5% y-o-y). Leasing activity also remained significantly below average in Leipzig (55,000 sqm) and Essen (31,000 sqm).