Leasing momentum on the Cologne office market is slowly picking up, previous year's result exceeded by 10%

The Cologne office market recorded take-up of 250,000 m² in 2025. This means that the annual result is around 15% below the long-term average. However, compared to the other top locations, which missed their result by a more significant margin on average, this result can be considered solid. This is the result of the analysis by BNP Paribas Real Estate. "On a positive note, the previous year's result was exceeded by 10% and the trend has been upward again since the low in 2023. Take-up is thus back on track for the long-term average," explains David Braun, Cologne branch manager of BNP Paribas Real Estate GmbH. In the course of the year, an upward trend is also emerging; the fourth quarter in particular has a positive impact of 73,000 m². Public administration in particular is making a significant contribution to this with the two largest deals in the final quarter: BIMA is expanding with the Bundeswehr by 9,100 m² in Holweide in the Mülheim office market zone, and the BLB NRW public prosecutor's office signed a lease agreement for 8,700 m² in Zollstock in the Bayenthal/Marienburg office market zone. The prime rent remains stable at €33.50/m² over the course of the year, which can be explained in particular by a larger supply of modern space compared to other top locations. The traditionally more volatile average rent rose slightly by €0.10/m² to €19.00/m².

The ranking of take-up by sector is clearly led by public administration and other services, with market shares of just under 30% and 22% respectively. In absolute terms, both sectors also achieve above-average take-up: public administration contributes 74,500 m², and other services contribute 55,000 m² to total take-up. Four of the five largest lease agreements made a significant contribution to the strong result of the public administration. In a long-term comparison, letting activity was less strongly influenced by larger leases. Small and medium-sized deals of up to 5,000 m² clearly shaped the market with a market share of a good 75%. The vacancy volume in the overall market increased significantly by 27% year-on-year to 497,000 m². However, this increase is mainly due to secondary locations, while high-quality space in central locations remains in demand. The vacancy rate thus rises to 6.3%. Currently, 152,000 m² of space is under construction, of which 62,000 m² is still available for rent on the market.