A prime rent of 60.00 euros per square metre and a commercial vacancy area of 1.99 million square metres lead to a cost inefficiency of 119.6 million euros in Munich. This is the result of a recent study by the office and telephone service provider ebuero (www.ebuero.de). As part of the analysis, the average and prime rents per square metre were determined and offset against the vacancy rate of the individual metropolises in order to quantify the financial inefficiency. In addition, the vacancy rate was set in relation to the total stock. The data clearly show that high rents also mean high costs in the Big 7.
This is where the highest vacancy rate is emerging
Looking at the vacancy rate in absolute figures, Munich is at the top with almost two million square metres (1.99 million m²), closely followed by Berlin with 1.94 million m². Frankfurt and Düsseldorf come in third and fourth place with 1.24 and 1.1 million m² respectively. The top 5 is completed by Hamburg with a vacancy rate of 1.09 million m². Stuttgart and Cologne are the only metropolises that do not have vacancies in the millions: Here, the unlet available space amounts to 534,700 and 408,000 m² respectively.
However, if the vacancy rate is put in relation to the total stock, a completely different picture emerges: In this ranking, Düsseldorf leads the way with a rate of 11.6 percent (stock: 9.52 million m²), followed by Frankfurt with 10.4 percent unlet commercial space. Munich and Berlin follow with 8.9 and 8.4 percent, respectively. Cologne and Stuttgart are the most cost-efficient. Not only do you find the cheapest average and prime rents in the ranking (Cologne: 19.80 euros and 32.50 euros; Stuttgart: 17.90 euros and 37.00 euros), the vacancy rate is also correspondingly low: While it is only 5.1 percent in Cologne, Stuttgart is only slightly higher at 5.7 percent.
Cost inefficiency due to prime rents
In terms of the maximum rents determined in the metropolises, Munich is at the top with a prime rent of 60.00 euros per m² and the resulting unused costs of 119.6 million euros. Second place in the ranking is occupied by Berlin: Here, vacant commercial space at a price per square metre of 47.50 euros incurs costs of 92.2 million euros. Frankfurt and Düsseldorf are in third and fourth place with costs of 64.7 million and around 50.8 million euros respectively, while Hamburg is at the bottom of the top 5 with a cost inefficiency of 44.9 million euros.
The average rents paint a similar picture, but Munich is caught up by Berlin: With a cost inefficiency of 55.2 million euros, the federal capital occupies first place, while Munich comes in second place with around 52.4 million euros. Frankfurt is also in third place in this evaluation (36.1 million euros). Düsseldorf and Hamburg, on the other hand, swap places in terms of average rents: Hamburg occupies fourth place with 24.2 million euros and Düsseldorf fifth place with 22.8 million euros.
“Munich and Berlin are currently paying the price for their extremely high rent levels,” says Laura Keddi, VP Marketing & Customer Success at ebuero. If millions of square meters are vacant there, the financial damage caused by the sheer mass immediately adds up to the three-digit million range. Stuttgart and Cologne prove that there is another way. Rents are more moderate there, which is why the market remains more liquid. For the business location, the current situation in the top metropolises is a significant brake on efficiency, in which expensive capital is burned square meter by square meter. This clearly shows that the market demands flexible room concepts instead of rigid large spaces that cost millions a month without creating added value.”
All results of the study, including determined rents, vacant spaces and stocks, can be found under the following link: https://www.ebuero.de/blog/kostenineffizienz-in-den-big-7-so-viel-kostet-gewerbeleerstand-in-den-metropolen-deutschlands
About the study
The study used the latest market data on commercial vacancy and total stock from JLL’s official market reports (as of Q1 2026). These were linked to the corresponding rent data: the prime rents are also based on the JLL surveys, while the validated data of the Colliers City Survey was used to determine the average rents. In order to calculate the “cost inefficiency”, the total vacancy area of the respective metropolises was extrapolated with the determined prices per square metre (both for the average and for the prime rent). In addition, the relative vacancy rate was determined in order to put the vacancy rate in direct relation to the city’s overall stock and thus make the markets comparable regardless of their pure size.
