Several larger closures ensure a dynamic start
Berlin’s office leasing market has made a strong start to 2026. In the first quarter, a total of 148,100 m² of office space was rented, an increase of 43 per cent compared to the same period last year (103,700 m²). This means that take-up is almost in line with the five-year average (157,520 m²), but around a fifth lower than the ten-year average (188,800 m²).
Compared to the previous year, there were significantly more medium-sized and large leases. Five deals in the range of 5,000 m² to 10,000 m² were registered alone, four more than in the first quarter of 2025.The largest and only deal above 10,000 m² was the letting of Strabag in the “B’Ella Berlin” at Gotenstraße 26-33 in the Schöneberg submarket with 12,000 m². A total of 200 leases were concluded at the beginning of the year. This is the highest level of market activity in a first quarter since 2022.
Take-up also increased compared to the last quarter of 2025. This gives Anja Schuhmann, branch manager of JLL Berlin and Leipzig, hopes that the rental result in 2026 will be better overall than in the previous year. “This is supported by the fact that there are other larger applications on the market. In addition, the demand for space in the small-volume segment is very stable. Overall, interest is still concentrated in very good areas and locations, but space expansions are still the exception.”
Most of the leases in the first quarter took place in Berlin-Mitte, with a market share of around 19 percent. This is followed by the Europacity (eleven per cent) and Schöneberg (ten per cent) sub-markets. The sectors with the highest turnover were business-related services with 21 percent and IT with 15 percent. Public administration, on the other hand, only accounts for around three percent. “However, we are currently seeing more activity here and expect the share of the public sector to increase over the course of the year,” comments Schuhmann.
She sees a continuing upward trend in office rents. The prime rent has risen by 50 cents to 47.50 euros compared to the previous quarter and is expected to increase further by the end of the year. “The maximum rents are sometimes significantly higher. In the top locations, rents are sometimes significantly higher for space of the best quality. Here, however, we also see the willingness of landlords to increase incentives through rent-free periods, construction cost subsidies or assumption of moving costs.”
