Lenders are increasingly confident about the German real estate financing market. 71 percent of lenders active in Germany plan to expand their lending in 2026 compared to the previous year. Only eight percent expect a decline in their financing activities. This is the result of the current “European Lender Intentions Survey 2026 – Germany * by the global real estate service provider CBRE. For the Germany evaluation, the responses of 48 lenders based in Germany or active in the German market were taken into account. For the Germany evaluation, the responses of 48 lenders based in Germany or active in the German market were taken into account.
“The debt capital markets continue to have robust liquidity. Banks and alternative lenders want to expand the majority of their new business, which will result in better financing options, especially for high-quality and sustainably positioned properties. At the same time, the spread between first-class properties and properties with structural deficits remains large,” says Prof. Dr. Ralf J. Klann, Head of Debt & Structured Finance Germany at CBRE.
Office properties are becoming more attractive again
Residential real estate remains the preferred asset class of lenders, followed by industrial and logistics properties. Office properties have improved from sixth to third place compared to last year’s survey. 16 percent of respondents each rated office and industrial properties as their preferred asset class. 38 percent named residential real estate in first place.
Sentiment towards office properties is also brightening: 44 percent of lenders assess the segment more positively than in the previous year. The net balance of positive and negative assessments is 25 percent. In particular, modern office buildings in good locations with high quality space and convincing sustainability properties are thus once again becoming the focus of financiers.
The conditions for first-class financing have also improved slightly. For prime office properties, the average loan-to-value value offered rose from 50 to 55 percent. At the same time, the median margin for senior loans decreased by 0.25 percentage points year-on-year to 1.75 percentage points.
Geopolitical uncertainty remains the biggest challenge
Despite the generally more positive willingness to finance, the market environment remains challenging. 81 percent of lenders cite the uncertain geopolitical situation as one of the most important challenges for the German financing market. In second place at 46 percent is uncertainty about further interest rate developments. 38 percent are worried about a renewed rise in inflation and a continued low transaction activity.
However, the importance of low investment activities as a negative factor has decreased significantly. In the previous year, 54 percent of those surveyed had counted this point as one of the greatest challenges.
“The fact that declining investment volumes are perceived by lenders much less often as a central risk is a positive signal for the German real estate market. Together with the improved sentiment in all real estate segments examined, this indicates that the assessment of fundamentals is stabilizing. However, geopolitical developments and their possible influence on inflation and interest rates remain a major factor of uncertainty,” says Dr. Jan Linsin, Head of Research Germany at CBRE.
Refinancing dominates loan demand
Senior loans remain the most commonly offered form of financing. 81 percent of the lenders surveyed are willing to provide corresponding loans. In addition, 69 percent want to offer project development financing. Pre-let projects and build-to-suit developments are particularly in demand.
With a share of 69 percent, refinancing remains the most important driver of demand for loans. A further 15 per cent of the expected demand is attributable to project developments, nine per cent to acquisition financing and seven per cent to capital restructuring.
Overall, the institutions expect only minor changes in their lending criteria. 63 percent of respondents want to keep their underwriting requirements unchanged from the previous year. 19 percent are planning a more offensive and a more conservative lending policy.
Alternative real estate segments are establishing themselves
82 percent of lenders are willing to finance at least one alternative real estate segment. This corresponds to an increase of five percentage points compared to the previous year. Types of use close to homes are particularly in demand: affordable or subsidised housing, co-living and senior living are among the most popular alternative segments. Healthcare properties and self-storage are also attracting broad interest. Banks are concentrating more on housing-related sub-markets, while alternative lenders are considering a wider range of types of use.
Sustainability is increasingly decisive for financial viability
Sustainability criteria continue to be of central importance for credit decisions. 57 percent of lenders will not finance real estate if it does not meet the respective sustainability requirements or have a robust plan to improve its sustainability performance. Only 23 percent state that corresponding criteria have no influence on individual credit decisions.
58 percent of those surveyed demand concrete improvement plans for non-compliant properties. More than half monitor their implementation on a quarterly basis. Of the lenders that provide for such plans, 75 percent enshrine contractual clauses with sanctions for non-performance. At the same time, 54 percent offer incentives for achieving agreed sustainability goals.
* The survey was conducted between March 18, 2026 and April 28, 2026. A total of 134 European-based market participants took part in the survey and provided information about their expectations regarding lending, financing conditions and preferred real estate sectors in 2026. For the Germany evaluation, the responses of 48 lenders based in Germany or active in the German market were taken into account.
