WEAK FIRST HALF OF 2024, NO MAJOR CONTRACTS SIGNED TO DATE
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At around 63,000 sqm, the Cologne office market recorded very low take-up in the first half of the year, which is also the weakest result in the last 20 years. The comparable figure for the previous year was undercut by nearly 34% and the ten-year average by almost 55%.
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In addition to the continuing difficult economic conditions, a key factor in this development relates to the fact that no major contract for over 10,000 sqm has been concluded to date. No take-up has yet been generated in the category between 5,000 and 10,000 sqm either. In contrast, these two size categories account for just under 31% of the long-term average result. To some extent, this also reflects the lack of modern space in the central locations of Cologne, resulting in large-scale searches in particular no longer being easily realized there. As a consequence, 3,500 sqm by Avedo Cologne in the Ehrenfeld/Braunsfeld submarket was the largest transaction till now.
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By contrast, letting activity in the smaller space segments of up to 1,000 sqm is much livelier and market shares of these categories are noticeably above the long-term average.
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Despite considerably weaker demand in the first half of 2024, the prime rent has remained stable and stands at €33.50 per sqm at the half-year mark. The traditionally more volatile average rent also held firm in q2 recorded at €18.90 per sqm at the end of June 2024.