BNP Paribas Real Estate publishes market figures for Q4 2025
The Frankfurt office market can report take-up of 611,000 m² at the end of 2025. This is the first time since 2019 that the result has exceeded the 600,000 m² mark and a strong increase of almost 54% compared to the previous year has been registered. With this above-average result, Frankfurt is the strongest office market in a nationwide comparison, relegating Munich and Berlin to the top spots. This is the result of the analysis by BNP Paribas Real Estate.
In particular, the major deals of Commerzbank (73,000 m²) and ING-Diba (32,500 m²) in the first quarter, which were supported by BNPP RE, pointed the way forward for the rest of the year. While major contracts were a rarity in previous years, 9 deals with more than 10,000 m² each were successfully crossed the finish line in the first three quarters of the year. In no other market was the number of major contracts so high in 2025. Although no major contracts are reported for the final quarter, the increase in leasing activity, especially in the mid-range segment (2,001 to 5,000 m²), contributed to a good quarterly result of 110,000 m². The previous year’s result was significantly exceeded in all quarters.
“Although the vacancy rate has continued to rise, there is still a lack of large, available first-time occupancy space and there is also pronounced competition among prospective tenants for feasible projects. As a result, the prime rent rose by 10% to €54.00/m² in 2025, with individual smaller lettings already exceeding this,” explains Riza Demirci, Managing Director and Frankfurt Branch Manager of BNP Paribas Real Estate GmbH.
Frankfurt’s leading industries impressively back
Frankfurt’s leading industries banks and financial service providers as well as consulting firms have made an impressive comeback in 2025. The major contracts of Commerzbank, ING-Diba and Allianz Global Investors are particularly significant. They have made a significant contribution to the significantly above-average take-up of space in the financial sector of 170,000 m² or almost 28% market share. In addition to the contracts with KPMG (33,400 m²) and White & Case (10,000 m²), the high total number of deals in the small and medium-sized segment is partly responsible for the strong result of 121,000 m². With market shares of just over 8% each, industry, trade and public administration are almost on a par.
The vacancy volume rose by around 10% over the course of the year to currently just under 1.88 million m² and the vacancy rate now stands at 12.1%. The differentiation according to locations and property qualities, which has already had a significant impact on the market in recent months, is continuing. The increase in vacancies is taking place above all in older existing buildings, which also do not score points in terms of location quality. In contrast, the lack of first-time occupancy areas available at short notice remains glaring. Their total volume in the banking district, Westend and city centre amounts to just under 22,000 m², with take-up of 118,000 m² in these sub-markets and space qualities. In this context, the 30% market share of first-time occupancy space in Frankfurt’s total turnover is impressive.
Prospects
“The Frankfurt office market can look back on an exceptional year with a large number of large and in some cases very large deals. Whether a similarly outstanding result can be achieved in 2026 remains to be seen for the time being. The successful completion of existing large-scale searches in the market will be the decisive factor here. Nevertheless, Frankfurt’s leading industries in particular, banks and financial service providers as well as consulting firms, have impressively demonstrated their will to change their space in 2025,” says Riza Demirci.
In the age of hybrid working, companies and their teams have completely different requirements for office space qualities than before. Flexibility, high-quality equipment and very good accessibility are crucial. As a consequence, the lack of large contiguous areas of this quality means that the desired area can only be mapped in a project development. This trend will consolidate in 2026.
Consequently, take-up in excess of 500,000 m² and thus in line with the long-term average is realistic. The prime rent is likely to rise further due to the blatant excess demand in the premium segment and set course for the €60/m² mark.
The overall vacancy rate is expected to move sideways at the current level for the coming year, while the shortage of first-occupancy space will remain.
