TAKE-UP REMAINS LIMITED DUE TO LACK OF AVAILABLE SPACE
-
The Frankfurt warehouse and logistics market closed 2024 with an overall solid result of 408,000 sqm. While the previous year's result was only slightly lower at -7%, the current result is significantly below the long-term average (-23%; 532,000 sqm). Despite the current challenging economic environment in Germany, however, this is not primarily due to a lack of demand.
-
As a central hub for international flows of goods in Europe, the Frankfurt market is benefiting from the comparatively positive economic development of its European neighbors, which is stimulating demand. However, infrastructurally well-connected, multimodal locations in particular, such as those close to the airport or the city centre, have been characterised by a supply shortage for years.
-
Leaving aside the exceptional year 2021, in which the Covid effects (nearshoring + e-commerce boom) were met with a large new construction pipeline, the 2024 figure is around the average of the annual results since 2019. Take-up in the Frankfurt market area therefore currently appears to be capped at around 400,000 sqm per year on the supply side. As a consequence, an increased shift of requests to significantly more peripheral locations, such as southern or central Rhineland-Palatinate, can currently be observed.
-
In line with the tight supply-demand ratio, a slight increase in prime rent of 10 cents to €7.95 per sqm was once again recorded in 2024. It is still being achieved in the Mönchhof, Raunheim and Kelsterbach areas. Meanwhile, the average rent has stabilised at a high level of €6.70 per sqm.