COLOGNE MARKET AFFECTED BY THE CURRENT SITUATION
After the Cologne investment market managed to perform very well in recent years and was able to steadily maintain transaction volumes at a high level, the difficult economic and, above all, financial environment almost completely stopped the market at the beginning of 2023. The noticeable uncertainty observed in the last quarter of 2022, in which the investment volume was already relatively low at only €395 million, has thus accelerated and intensified even further. In the first three months of the current year, an investment volume of only around €50 million was registered, covering less than a handful of transactions. After the sharp interest rate hikes by the major central banks, investors are still looking for a new price level that is fair for both sides. Given this background, a series of large assets, which were already on the market last year, have been put on hold for the time being. In addition, no portfolio transactions have yet been made in the first quarter of 2023. Therefore it is not surprising that Cologne has so far recorded the lowest transaction volume among the A-cities and, just like Frankfurt, has only achieved a double-digit result.