The German office investment market recorded a significant upturn in the first half of 2026. The transaction volume rose to just under EUR 3.5 billion, two thirds above the previous year’s level, as more deals were concluded again. Overall, a market is emerging that is developing out of a wait-and-see phase and is increasingly establishing resilient price levels. These are the results of a recent analysis by the global real estate service provider CBRE.
“The recovery continued noticeably, although the market remained selective and focused on high-quality products in liquid markets. The increasing activity was mainly driven by large-volume individual transactions. At the same time, supply increased and pricing continued to progress,” says Marcus Lemli, Head of Investment at CBRE in Germany. The increase in the large-volume segment was evident both in the top locations and increasingly in the regional markets. Overall, the transaction volume in the segment from 50 million euros each rose by 371 percent.
“At the level of risk classes, there was an overall slight shift towards more opportunity-oriented strategies,” says Dr. Jan Linsin, Head of Research at CBRE in Germany. Core remained the most important category, but lost share of the total volume. At the same time, core-plus investments increased significantly. This reflected an increasing willingness to selectively take on more risk, without abandoning the focus on quality and marketability.
On the buyer side, the market was dominated by private investors, the public sector and asset and fund managers. Domestic capital continued to dominate significantly, increasing its share of the total transaction volume even further compared to the same period last year. This means that Germany remains a strategically relevant target market, even if international investors acted selectively and expanded their activities only moderately.
Prime yields in the liquid core markets remained stable in the first half of the year, with upward pressure on yields. At the same time, the yield level differentiated more strongly according to location and property quality. Away from the prime segments, the market remained much more heterogeneous and the yield gap is widening. “Overall, advanced pricing shows that resilient valuation levels are being reached again,” says Sandro Höselbarth, Head of Valuation & Advisory Services Germany at CBRE in Germany.
Munich further ahead
Within the top 7 locations, a differentiated picture emerged. Munich maintained its strong market position and was the highest-volume location in the first six months of this year. However, Berlin, which was still the undisputed leader in the same period last year, lost relative dominance in the first half of 2026, contributing to a more stable and less concentrated market structure within the major office markets. Düsseldorf and Hamburg gained significant momentum due to individual major deals and expanded their market shares. Frankfurt also recorded a noticeable upturn.
B locations are gaining strategic importance
At the same time, the segment outside the top 7 developed at an above-average pace. Activity in B locations and regional centers increased significantly. The recovery was thus placed on a broader regional basis. The B locations benefited in particular from an increasing willingness to take risks on the part of investors and individual large-volume deals. They increasingly developed into a supplementary playing field for opportunistic strategies. At the same time, they played an important role in market liquidity, as they offered additional investment opportunities outside the core markets.
The buyer structure also differed in some cases from the overall market. Institutional investors became more involved, while the public sector also played a more prominent role. Overall, the regional markets became more of a focus for different investor groups who specifically focused on diversification and return opportunities.
Outlook for the second half of the year
“The gradual recovery in market activity is expected to continue for the remainder of the year. While the top 7 continue to function as stable core markets, B locations and regional centers are developing into an important supplementary segment. The pipeline remains well filled, but at the same time decision-making processes are likely to remain demanding and time-consuming. For the year as a whole, a volume at the previous year’s level can therefore be expected, especially since larger deals in particular could well be delayed until next year,” says Lemli.
“With regard to the yield development, a uniform movement cannot be assumed. In very good locations and in modern, well-let properties, yields are likely to remain largely stable. In contrast, there are signs of further upward pressure in the case of less liquid products, weaker property quality or increased rental risk,” says Höselbarth.
