At the end of the first half of 2026, the Hamburg investment market achieved a transaction volume of €967 million. Although the long-term average is still missed by 29%, growth of 19% compared to the previous year is recorded, the best half-year result since the interest rate turnaround. Behind Munich, the Hanseatic city ranks second in the ranking of Germany’s top markets with its current volume. This is the result of the analysis by BNP Paribas Real Estate.
“After a subdued start to the year with a transaction volume of € 300 million, market activity picked up noticeably in the second quarter. At €667 million, not only was the majority of the half-year result achieved, but also the second-best quarterly result since 2022. The transaction frequency is also above the previous year’s level, which speaks for an increasing market breadth. The largest transaction in the past three months was the purchase of the Alsterhaus by a joint venture of the Schoeller Group Family Office together with a pension fund,” explains Heiko Fischer, Managing Director and Hamburg Branch Manager of BNP Paribas Real Estate GmbH.
Over the past twelve months, net prime yields for office properties and commercial buildings have risen by 10 basis points each. In the logistics segment, the rise in yields was much stronger at 35 basis points. Currently, the net prime yields in Hamburg are 4.35% for office properties, 3.85% for commercial buildings and 4.60% for logistics properties.
Retail & Logistics comparatively strong
The office asset class makes the largest contribution to the transaction volume at €356 million. The investment volume has risen noticeably again compared to the previous two years and there are significantly more properties on the market again. The development of the retail and logistics asset classes, which each achieved above-average sales of around €230 million, should also be highlighted positively. However, both segments were largely determined by a few major deals, such as the Alsterhaus.
Central locations were able to increase their share of sales compared to the previous year. City and Cityrand together have a market share of 56% (Ø 10 years: 51%).
The distribution of the investment volume by size class illustrates the current high importance of medium-sized transactions. For example, 49% of earnings are attributable to deals between €10 million and €50 million. So far, no deals have been registered in the segment between €50 million and €100 million, while transactions above €100 million account for an above-average market share. It is noteworthy that this result is almost exclusively attributable to individual deals, as the portfolio share is very low at only 11%. At around €860 million, individual transactions reached a volume that was just under 9% below the long-term average in absolute terms.
Prospects
The development of the first half of the year indicates that the Hamburg investment market is likely to continue its recovery path in the further course of the year. The increase in transaction frequency compared to the previous year and the increasing market breadth indicate that market activity is now on a solid basis and is no longer driven exclusively by individual large deals.
Despite the recognizable market recovery, the general conditions remain challenging. Uncertainties in the financing environment, geopolitical risks and the still fragile economic recovery may continue to dampen investment activity. However, Hamburg also has a high quality of location and resilient user markets by national standards. The high demand for central locations and the broad economic basis of the Hanseatic city form a solid basis for the further revival of the investment market. “Even though pricing does not yet appear to have been fully completed in all segments in view of the recent slight increase in financing costs, the framework conditions for further transactions are gradually improving. A well-filled pipeline and the slightly brightening market environment are likely to contribute to a moderately increasing closing momentum in the further course of the year. Against this backdrop, an investment volume of over €2bn for the year as a whole, which is higher than the previous year’s level, appears to be a realistic scenario,” says Heiko Fischer.
