Cushman & Wakefield, one of the world’s largest real estate consulting firms, has analysed Q1 2025 developments in the office markets of Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Frankfurt, and Munich. The key parameters — take-up, rental levels, and availability — are summarised below.
BERLIN
Berlin Office Market: More Deals, But Few Large Transactions
Dominic Rausch, Head of Office Agency Berlin at Cushman & Wakefield, comments: “The growing number of lease deals shows renewed momentum in Berlin’s office leasing market. Large-scale deals remain rare, but transactions and take-up in the medium-sized segment (1,000 to 3,000 sqm) are about one-third above the five-year average. The small-scale segment is also developing positively.”
Demand: Lack of Large Deals Weighs on Take-Up
- Office take-up in Berlin reached 112,000 sqm in Q1 2025—down 12% from the previous quarter and 37% below the five-year average. Of this, 101,000 sqm was leasing activity, and 11,000 sqm was for owner-occupiers.
- The number of deals rose to 159 (Q4 2024: 149; Q1 2024: 141) but remained below the five-year average of 183.
- The weak take-up was primarily due to a lack of large-scale leases. The largest and only lease over 5,000 sqm was signed by Jobcenter Marzahn-Hellersdorf, taking approx. 7,700 sqm in a new DIBAG development on Beilsteiner Straße.
Rents: Average Declines, Prime Stable
- The prime rent has remained steady at €45.00/sqm since late 2023 and is expected to stay stable throughout the year.
- The weighted average rent fell by €0.80 to €28.35/sqm from the previous quarter. It has fluctuated between just under €28 and over €29 over the past three years.
Supply: Vacancy Rising Rapidly
- Including sublet space, the vacancy stood at 2.08 million sqm by the end of Q1, corresponding to a vacancy rate of 9.7%.
- This represents a quarter-over-quarter increase of over 200,000 sqm and a year-over-year rise of more than 500,000 sqm. A year ago, the rate stood at 7.4%.
DÜSSELDORF
Low Initial Take-Up, Stable Vacancy – Large-Scale Requirements Could Stimulate Market Later in the Year
Martin Höfler, Head of Office Agency Düsseldorf at Cushman & Wakefield, comments: “Although the current take-up suggests a subdued market sentiment, we are observing increased activity. Several large-scale requirements are currently active and are expected to boost market dynamics and volumes later in the year.”
Demand: Cautious Approach to Large-Space Leasing
- Take-up in Q1 2025 totaled around 38,000 sqm, down 35% from the same period last year. The last time a lower figure was recorded was Q2 2023.
- The five-year average for Q1 was missed by 45%, and the ten-year average for Q1 was missed by 53%.
- Large leases remain scarce. The largest was Galeria leasing 6,800 sqm in the RWI4 building on Völklinger Straße 4 (Media Harbor submarket).
Rents: Prime Stable for Three Quarters, Average Falling
- The achievable prime rent is €43.50/sqm/month, approx. 4% higher than last year. A further increase is expected by the end of 2025, albeit at a slower rate.
- Due to the absence of large leases—especially in the premium segment—the average rent fell over the past 12 months to €18.50/sqm, down from €20.05/sqm a year ago.
Supply: Vacancy Stable Year-on-Year
- The office vacancy remained stable at 948,000 sqm, with a vacancy rate of 10.1%, just 0.1 percentage points below last year.
- The supply of sublease space has recently declined, contributing to the overall stabilization. Currently, around 105,000 sqm is available for sublease — approx. 45,000 sqm less than in Q1 2024.
FRANKFURT
Two Major Bank Leases Dominate the Market – Record Q1 Result for Frankfurt’s Office Market
Hanjo Theiss, Head of Office Agency Frankfurt at Cushman & Wakefield, comments: “Frankfurt’s office market posted its highest-ever Q1 take-up. However, vacancy continues to rise. Since large transactions mostly occurred in new developments, there is little impact on vacancy reduction. The result confirms the ongoing ‘flight-to-quality’ trend, exacerbating vacancy issues in older buildings.”
Demand: Large Deals Drive Results
- Combined new lettings and owner-occupier deals amounted to approx. 194,600 sqm in Q1 2025—more than double the volume of Q1 2024. Compared to long-term averages, Q1 2025 also set records: the five-year average was exceeded by 124%, the ten-year average by 92%.
- 55% of total 2024 take-up (351,000 sqm) was already achieved in Q1 2025. Two major leases by financial institutions contributed over half the volume (105,000 sqm):
- Commerzbank’s full lease of the Central Business Tower (approx. 73,000 sqm) in the banking district.
- ING DiBa’s lease of approx. 32,000 sqm in Hafenpark Quartier (Ostend submarket).
Rents: Prime Reaches €50.00/sqm
- Large leases in high-end developments drove rents up to a sustainable prime rent of €50.00/sqm/month. The weighted average rose to €30.90/sqm/month.
- The prime rent rose €1.00 quarter-over-quarter and €1.50 year-over-year.
- Compared to Q1 2024, the average rent increased by €5.10 (+19.8%), and by €4.80 (+18.4%) from Q4 2024.
Supply: Vacancy Rate at 10.8%
- Vacancy reached 1.27 million sqm by the end of March, with a vacancy rate of 10.8%, up 1.2 percentage points year-over-year and 0.6 points quarter-over-quarter.
HAMBURG
Hamburg Office Market Begins Year on Solid Footing
Pierre Nolte, Head of Offices & Leasing Germany at Cushman & Wakefield, comments: “Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, Hamburg’s office market made a stable start to 2025. With take-up at approx. 110,000 sqm, we’re aligned with long-term averages. This trend, alongside rising demand, supports an expected annual take-up of around 450,000 sqm.”
Demand: Larger Leases Despite Fewer Deals
- Around 110,000 sqm was leased or taken by owner-occupiers in Q1 2025—an increase of 38% year-over-year, and in line with the five-year Q1 average.
- Larger deals dominated, although the number of leases fell 27%. The average deal size rose from 600 sqm (Q1 2024) to over 1,000 sqm. Eight leases exceeded 3,000 sqm, including four by owner-occupiers—double the previous year.
- The largest deal: HCOB’s lease of approx. 13,300 sqm in the Ajour redevelopment on Mönckebergstraße 3 for its new HQ in 2026.
Rents: Prime and Average Rents at Record Highs
- The prime rent rose to €35.50/sqm/month at the end of Q1—an increase of €1.50 or over 4% year-over-year. Strong demand for premium space in top locations is expected to support further moderate growth.
- The weighted average of all leases over the past 12 months rose to €21.90/sqm/month—a new high and approx. 3% higher than last year.
Supply: Vacancy Rises for 12th Straight Quarter
- The vacancy rate rose by 1.1 percentage points year-over-year to 5.8%. Total vacant space increased by over 150,000 sqm to approx. 821,000 sqm.Available sublease space rose by 43% year-over-year, totaling around 65,000 sqm by March 2025.
MUNICH
Positive Start for Munich’s Office Market – High Demand for Central Locations Drives Rent Growth
Matthias Hofmann, Head of Office Agency Munich and Branch Manager at Cushman & Wakefield, comments: “Munich’s office market had a solid start to the year. Location and quality remain decisive for occupiers. This is reflected in rising average and prime rents.”
Demand: Take-Up Matches Prior Year
- Take-up in Q1 2025 totaled approx. 138,000 sqm—just 0.5% below the prior year and 6% below the five-year average.
- 42% of take-up came from four deals of 5,000+ sqm. The largest was Siemens leasing 33,000 sqm in the PANDION OFFICEHOME BEAT project in Werksviertel.
- The submarkets of Central East (39,000 sqm) and Central West (30,800 sqm) posted the highest take-up. Industrial companies accounted for 76,000 sqm—over 40% from the Siemens deal alone.
- For 2025, total take-up is expected to exceed 600,000 sqm.
Rents Continue to Rise
Compared to Q4, rents increased:
- Prime rent rose €1 to €54/sqm/month
- Average rent increased €0.90 to €26.10/sqm/month Further growth in prime rents is expected over the course of the year.
Supply: Slight Rise in Vacancy
- The vacancy rate rose by 20 basis points to 7.6% quarter-over-quarter. Over 1.6 million sqm was available for immediate lease at quarter-end—but unevenly distributed. While central areas have little excess supply, peripheral submarkets show significantly higher vacancy.
- 72,000 sqm of new office space was completed in Q1—already fully let. More than half (38,500 sqm) came from the PANDION OFFICEHOME SOUL project.
