With take-up of 44,000 m², the Dortmund office market achieved a solid result in the range of the long-term average (~45,000 m²) by mid-2026. Compared to the comparable result of the previous year, however, this corresponds to a decline of around 32%. This must be seen as an indication that the continuing challenging macroeconomic conditions are also reflected in the leasing activity of the Westphalian metropolis. This is the result of the analysis by BNP Paribas Real Estate.
"So far, more than half of the take-up has been generated by small contracts between 200 and 2,000 m², which generally speaks for lively market activity. Demand for medium-sized space between 5,000 and 5,000 10,000 m². Overall, this segment accounts for 27% of sales, which corresponds to an above-average share," explains Amedeo Augenbroe, Essen branch manager of BNP Paribas Real Estate GmbH. Take-up was particularly strong in the Citykern office market zone, which accounts for around 29% of earnings, and in the rest of the city (~30%). This is due to the largest contracts signed so far this year. For example, the Jobcenter Dortmund is renting over 6,000 m² of office space in a central city location and Amazon is moving into about 5,500 m² on the site of the former hard coal-fired power plant in Segro Park Dortmund.
In the very good locations of the city centre, a prime rent of €23/m² is currently being achieved. This means that it has already been at a record level since the beginning of the year. Compared to the same period of the previous year, this represents a rent increase of around 15%. The average rent is currently €14.60/m².
Larger deals dominate industry distribution
The larger deals in the current year have a significant impact on the distribution of take-up by sector. The largest share is taken up by public administration, which accounts for around 34% of total turnover due to the aforementioned lease agreement of the Dortmund Job Centre. Retail companies follow in second place with around 23%. The decisive factor for this is the rental from Amazon. The other category also makes a noticeable contribution to take-up of a good 15%, which suggests that demand is diversified overall.
The vacancy volume has risen slightly to 155,000 m² over the past twelve months. With a vacancy rate of 4.8%, the value is still just below the fluctuation reserve (5%) and is also at a low level in a nationwide comparison. Only 17% of the vacancy rate is accounted for by modern space qualities preferred by tenants. This proportion is even lower at just 4% in the city centre, where only 3,600 m² are available in the short term.
The construction volume is also at a low level. At the end of the first half of the year, only 31,000 m² of office space was under construction. Compared to the same period of the previous year, this corresponds to a decrease of 24%. At the same time, the pre-letting rate is a high 48%, which means that only 16,000 m² are still available to the market.
Prospects
Despite the challenging conditions, Dortmund's office market is comparatively robust in mid-2026. Although take-up is in line with the long-term average, there has been a lack of large-volume leases beyond the 10,000 m² mark, which usually make a significant contribution to earnings.
In addition, the development of the rental market is being slowed down by the persistently weak economic situation and geopolitical uncertainties. However, if the economic environment improves in the course of the year, demand for office space is expected to increase. In this case, a positive annual result seems quite realistic. The current applications for space also speak for a revival of the market in the coming months. A take-up at the level of the long-term average of around 100,000 m² is considered a realistic target figure.
"On the supply side, no significant change is expected for the second half of the year. At the same time, the supply of modern and high-quality office space is likely to remain limited, so that rents should also continue to rise in the medium to short term. It cannot be ruled out that the €25 mark will be exceeded," says Amedeo Augenbroe.
