Office Market Dynamics Germany Big 7
Q4 2024
The quarterly Big 7 Office Market Dynamics Report summarizes and analyzes the current office real estate market conditions in the most important German office property markets.
In the seven biggest German office locations (Berlin, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart), a total take-up of around 2.7 million sq.m. was achieved in 2024, representing a small increase of 6% compared to the previous year.
Office vacancy rates in the Big 7 continued to rise in 2024, averaging 6.8%, which is 1.0 percentage points higher than a year ago. In total, approximately 6.7 million sq.m. of office space is available on the market in the short term.
Prime rents in the Big 7 continued to increase in 2024, with average prime rents rising by 6% over the past year. Munich at €54.50/sq.m./month and Frankfurt at €50.00/sq.m./month have already exceeded the €50 threshold.
In the final quarter of the year, a take-up of 678,600 sq.m. was registered in the Big 7, making the fourth quarter the second-best quarterly result in 2024. Looking at the entire year, the economic situation in Germany prevented a significantly better result. Within the Big 7, the take-up results varied throughout 2024. While Munich and Stuttgart recorded significant gains of 29% and 26% respectively, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf experienced declines of 6%, 8% and 16% respectively compared to the previous year. It is noteworthy that large-scale deals by public administration, in particular, contributed to the overall slightly better result than in the previous year. Seven of the ten largest deals of the year across cities were attributed to this sector.
The office space vacancy in the seven office metropolises continued to rise by the end of the year. Currently, around 6.7 million sq.m. are available in the short term, which is about 1.1 million sq.m. more than at the end of 2023. The average vacancy rate across the seven locations is 6.8%. The seven markets show a wide range , from 4.3% in Cologne to 10.6% in Dusseldorf, with an increasing trend across all markets. The proportion of sublease space in the total vacancy at the end of 2024 is 13%, which is at a comparable level to a year earlier.
Completions of around 1.6 million sq.m. in the past year suggest that the total stock in the Big 7 is likely to reach 100 million sq.m. for the first time in 2025. Currently, approximately 3.6 million sq.m. of office space is under construction, of which around 1.25 million sq.m. is scheduled to be completed in 2025. Approximately 41% of the space under construction is currently still available. It’s worth noting that in the fourth quarter, several project delays were also registered in the Big 7 markets.
Outlook
For 2025, take-up is expected to be around 2.9 million sq.m. for the Big 7. Vacancy rates are also likely to continue rising in 2025 and could reach a total volume of just over 7 million sq.m. The demand for high-quality office space in prime locations is expected to lead to a further moderate increase in prime rents in most cities in 2025.
The following individual publications of the german Big 7 markets offer in-depth market analyses for the office markets in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich and Stuttgart. They focus on key indicators such as take-up volume, vacancy rate, completion pipeline and rents and also provide a market-specific outlook for the future.
591,100 sq.m. of office space was leased in Berlin in the full year of 2024, 12% more than in the same period of 2023. This volume is 24% less than the five-year ...
In 2024, the Cologne office letting market recorded a take-up volume of 229,300 sq.m., representing a 10% increase compared to the previous year.
In 2024, the Düsseldorf office letting market recorded a take-up of 253,100 sq.m., representing a 16% decrease compared to the previous year.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, leasing volumes for office space reached 88,300 sq.m. in Frankfurt, 33% less than in the same quarter of the previous year.
In 2024, the Hamburg office leasing market recorded a take-up of 430,900 sq.m., representing a 6% decrease compared to the previous year. Despite lower take-up ...
The Munich office letting market recorded a take-up of 619,600 sq.m. in 2024, corresponding to an increase of 29% compared to 2023. The fourth quarter ...
In 2024, 199,100 sq.m. of office space was leased in Stuttgart, which is 26% more than in 2023. The final quarter contributed 54,100 sq.m. to the annual result.
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