Transaction volume at the end of the first half of the year is 22 percent above the previous year’s figure
After a subdued start to the year, the German investment market for industrial and logistics real estate picked up significant speed in the second quarter of 2026 and, with a transaction volume of EUR 1.8 billion, delivered its best second quarter in five years. Overall, the investment market stands at 2.9 billion euros after the first half of the year – half a billion euros or 22 percent above the same period last year. This was mainly due to numerous transactions with higher volumes, as the number of trades rose only moderately year-on-year from 132 to 134.
“We are currently observing a variety of opportunities for investors in the market. Many of them are offered for sale through structured procedures via advisors in the market, but there are also some direct transactions between buyers and sellers,” says Diana Schumann, Head of Industrial & Logistics Investment JLL Germany.
Major deals in particular gave the market a tailwind in the second quarter. Four of the five largest transactions have been completed between April and June so far this year. Overall, the five top deals contributed 30 percent or around 870 million euros of the total transaction volume, after 20 percent last year. Five transactions made it above the 100 million euro mark, which only one transaction had managed in the first half of last year. “However, it remains the case that there is manageable liquidity in the core area and therefore purchase prices for large-volume transactions, especially outside the core locations, are coming under pressure,” adds Schumann.
At the same time, investors are somewhat more willing to take risks again this year. Although the ratio of core properties rose by two percentage points to 21 percent, the growth was even more pronounced for value-add by five percentage points to 24 percent and for opportunistic properties by three percentage points to 13 percent. The most heavily traded risk class, however, remains core-plus with 42 percent of the transaction volume. Schumann adds: “There is still a lot of interest and capital for IOS (Industrial Outdoor Storage) opportunities, but these are not so easy to offer due to often small volumes, a fragmented market and manageable data.”
Asset and fund managers (42 percent) lead on the buyer side with a clear lead over REITS (19 percent) and corporates (eleven percent). On the seller side, on the other hand, the field is much more balanced: Here, corporates occupy first place with 20 percent, immediately followed by developers (17 percent) and asset and fund managers (15 percent).
International investors showed great interest in German real estate and expanded their holdings by around 540 million euros. On the buyer side, they were clearly ahead with 69 percent, while on the seller side they were exactly on a par with German players.
Prime yields once again remained constant, so that the field continues to be divided into two groups: Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich calculate at 4.5 percent, while Berlin, Düsseldorf, Cologne and Stuttgart report 4.6 percent.
“Furthermore, a large number of individual transactions, but also portfolios, are currently still in advanced exclusivity. The latter are mediated in off-market or semi-off-market processes, within the framework of very limited or focused investor approaches. Accordingly, we are also optimistic about the second half of the year and expect a further significant increase in transaction volumes,” Schumann gives an outlook for the coming months.
