Take-up on the top 7 office letting markets totalled around 1.38 million m² at the end of the first half of 2025. This corresponds to an increase of around 12% compared to the same period of the previous year, but is still below the ten-year average of around 1.5 million sqm.
„The increase in take-up compared to the first half of 2024 is mainly due to some large-volume individual deals and does not reflect the current market reality,’ says Björn Holzwarth, spokesperson for German Property Partners (GPP). “The letting market continues to be dominated by small to medium-sized spaces, with large deals remaining rare. Modern, high-quality space in central locations or with good connections remains the focus of demand, but is in short supply in many places.”
• The development of take-up in the top 7 locations showed a mixed picture: While the figures in Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart were largely on a par with the previous year, Frankfurt more than doubled its take-up from the same period last year (+102% to 359,800 m²). The city on the Main thus achieved the highest half-year result among the top 7 cities. This was due to a number of contracts negotiated last year that have now been realised, as well as the large-volume letting by Commerzbank in the 1st quarter. Cologne also increased its take-up by around 83% to around 110,000 m² thanks to a few large-scale agreements. In Berlin, on the other hand, the half-year figure was around 19% down on the previous year, while in Munich it fell by around 10%.
• Vacancies continued to rise in all locations. The increase was most pronounced in Berlin (+42% to 1.75 million m²), Cologne (+33% to 459,000 m²) and Düsseldorf (+30% to 947,100 m²). The top 7 vacancies increased by around 28% to around 8.11 million m², with the top 7 vacancy rate rising accordingly by around 1.8 percentage points to around 8.4%.
• The top 7 owner-occupier rate fell by around 3 percentage points year-on-year to around 8%. While the rate in most locations remained at the previous year’s level or rose slightly, there were virtually no owner-occupiers in Cologne and Düsseldorf.
• In most locations, the sustained demand for modern, high-quality space was reflected in rising average rents. Cologne recorded the largest increase of around 22% to €23.00/m²/month. GPP also registered a significant increase in Frankfurt (+21% to €30.30/m²/month) – and thus the highest average rent of the top 7. In Berlin and Düsseldorf, on the other hand, average rents fell by around 8% and 6% respectively.
• Prime rents in all of the top 7 cities remained largely at the previous year’s level or increased slightly. The most significant increase of around 9% to around €51.00/m²/month was seen in Frankfurt – followed by Stuttgart with an increase of around 6%. The highest prime rent of €54.00/m²/month was realised in Munich.
Holzwarth predicts: “If the announced fiscal policy measures, such as the infrastructure package and tax relief, are implemented, this could be reflected in a gradual economic improvement and a corresponding increase in activity on the letting markets from 2026. For 2025, the reluctance of many users is likely to continue to slow down the take-up of space.
However, the Ifo business climate index, which has risen continuously since January, and some active large-scale searches on the market are sending positive signals for the rest of the year. Against this backdrop, we expect the top 7 take-up of space for 2025 as a whole to be above the previous year’s result, although it will not exceed the long-term average.”
The GPP commercial property network includes Grossmann & Berger Immobilien, Anteon Immobilien, GREIF & CONTZEN Immobilien, blackolive and E & G Immobilien.
Source: DEAL-Magazin