In its July 16 issue, the Immobilien Zeitung reported about the persistently high demand on the office markets of the leading German cities. Berlin’s office market, for instance, ended the first semester of 2015 with a record turnover of 337,000 sqm, an increase by well over 20%, as the paper reported on the basis of figures from major estate agencies.
At the moment, the majority of market analysts put the prime rent in Berlin at 23.00 euros/sqm, which is 0.50 euros/sqm more than was registered during the prior-year period. Since 2014, the average rent rose by 4% to 13.23 euros/sqm according to Catella Property, and to 13.75 euros/sqm according to Colliers.
The office market in Düsseldorf achieved the finest mid-year result in five years due to several major lease signings in H1 2015. Depending on what estate agency you ask, the reported take-up ranged from 166,805 sqm (Catella) to 208,000 sqm (Aengevelt). Then again, the average rents reportedly dropped by 10% to 13.30 euros/sqm during H1 2015, according to Savills. The drop is explained by many major contract signings in peripheral office markets, as Panajotis Aspiotis of Savills was quoted as saying.
Calculations by CBRE suggest that there are 300,000 sqm of office accommodation on the market in Munich. However, there are virtually no voids in downtown areas inside the ring road (Mittlerer Ring), nor are there any major developments in the near-term pipeline. The Munich branch of Colliers determined that no more than 90,000 sqm will come on-stream in inner city locations between now and 2017.
In Frankfurt am Main, 323 new leases signed during H1 2015 added up to a total take-up of 180,000 sqm, which represents the mean between the total quoted by several estate agencies. Roughly three out of four contracts were signed for units of less than 5,000 sqm, according to BNP Paribas Real Estate (BNPPRE). The prime rent was anywhere between 35.50 euros/sqm (JLL) and 39.00 euros/sqm (CBRE). The rent average climbed by one euro/sqm, and now equals between 18.50 euros/sqm (Savills) and 20.00 euros/sqm (Colliers).
The mid-year turnover in Hamburg totalled 1.95 bln euros according to stats released by JLL, which would exceed the five-year mean by 94% and the ten-year mean by 75%. Figures quoted by G&B suggest that 45% of the turnover represented package deals. (Source: German Real Estate News, [email protected])
