Berlin and Munich are driving take-up, while vacancies and prime rents in the top 5 markets are rising at the same time.
The five largest German office stores achieved take-up of around 1.16 million square metres in the first half of 2026, which corresponds to a decline of one per cent compared to the same period last year. This is shown by the current Market Monitor H1 2026 on Newmark's office market, which is published for the first time. The almost stable overall result is due to widely differing local developments in the five markets of Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich.
"Berlin and Munich are benefiting from large leases and growing significantly, while other markets are still looking for new momentum," says Helge Zahrnt MRICS, Head of Research Germany at Newmark.
At around 373,000 square metres, Berlin recorded the highest take-up of the top 5 markets and was 54 per cent above the previous year's figure. Munich followed with almost 350,000 square metres, an increase of 33 per cent. In both markets, several major deals shaped the result. Frankfurt reached around 158,000 square metres without comparable deals, 55 per cent less than in the first half of 2025, while Hamburg reached 187,000 square metres, a drop of 13 per cent. Düsseldorf remained the smallest of the five markets with around 98,000 square metres.
"Despite the challenging economic situation, we are seeing a lot of activity and movement in the market. Companies are optimising their space requirements and increasing location and space quality in a targeted manner," says Nathalie Wegner, Head of Office Leasing Berlin at Newmark.
