After two above-average first quarters at the beginning of the last two years, the Dortmund office market has so far achieved only a moderate result in the first three months of 2026 with take-up of 21,000 m². This is the result of the analysis by BNP Paribas Real Estate.
“However, the result is put into perspective against the background that the ten-year average of just under 24,000 m² is only slightly higher and that quarterly results of around 20,000 m² were not a novelty in a long-term comparison,” explains Amedeo Augenbroe, Essen branch manager of BNP Paribas Real Estate GmbH. Both the lively demand in the small market segment up to 1,000 m² (~30%) and in the medium-sized space segment between 5,000 and 10,000 m² are encouraging. Overall, around 58% of sales are attributable to the latter segment, which thus contributes a significantly above-average share (Ø 10 years: 31%). In terms of the distribution of volume among the sub-markets, the city centre is once again at the top with around 8,300 m². The decisive factor for this is not least the largest contract signed so far in the current year. The Dortmund Job Center is renting over 6,000 m² of office space in a sought-after, central city location. Due to the budget freeze imposed at the beginning of the year, which was valid until mid-March, this agreement could not be successfully signed until the end of the first quarter.
At a high level of €23.00/m², the prime rent is currently moving sideways compared to the end of 2025. The generally more volatile average rent also remained constant at €14.60/m² at the end of March 2026.
Public administration and trade at the top of the ranking, construction activity continues to decline
The distribution of take-up by sector is largely determined by the largest deals concluded so far in the current year. Public administration clearly leads the ranking with around 48% due to the aforementioned contract of the Dortmund Job Center, followed by retail companies, which also contributed a disproportionate share of a good 32%. The main reason for this is the conclusion of Amazon. As part of a large-scale logistics lease, the company is moving into around 5,500 m² of office space in the “rest of the city” submarket.
The vacancy volume has risen slightly in the last twelve months to 159,000 m². At 4.9%, the vacancy rate is still just below the fluctuation reserve of 5%, which also corresponds to a low rate in a nationwide comparison. Only about 18% or around 28,000 m² of the vacancy rate has a modern quality of furnishings and fittings preferred by tenants. In the city centre, this proportion is even much lower at 5% or 4,500 m². Furthermore, first-time new-build space also remains a scarce commodity on the Dortmund office market.
The construction volume is also at a low level: at the end of the first quarter of 2026, only 28,000 m² of office space is under construction. This corresponds to a decline of a good 24% compared to the same period of the previous year. The pre-letting rate is a high 54%, so that only around 13,000 m² are available to the rental market.
Prospects
Dortmund’s office leasing market has made a moderate start to 2026. “At the moment, there is a lack of large contracts for more than 10,000 m², which often make a significant contribution to increasing sales in smaller markets. The budgetary freeze imposed at the beginning of the year and in force until mid-March was also reflected in the result, as the public sector in Dortmund is usually responsible for large-volume financial statements,” said Amedeo Augenbroe.
The rental momentum is also being slowed down by the sluggish economic recovery and the uncertain geopolitical situation. However, if the economic situation improves, then an increasing demand for office space should also start in Dortmund, so that an overall good annual result seems possible. The applications currently available on the market and the end of the budget freeze also allow a positive outlook for the coming months. A result in the range of the long-term average (~100,000 m²) is to be considered realistic. For the coming quarters, a sideways movement on the supply side is to be expected. At the same time, the supply of high-quality office space is likely to remain limited, as no noticeable relief from new construction projects is expected in the short term.
Link to the market report: https://www.realestate.bnpparibas.de/marktberichte/bueromarkt/dortmund-report
