The interim balance of the Leipzig office market at the middle of the year must be viewed in a differentiated way: On the one hand, total take-up of around 33,000 m² is a decline of a good 13% compared to the previous year. On the other hand, however, there are also indications that demand has primarily shifted and not weakened significantly. In this context, the number of registered deals fell only marginally by less than 8%, while modern take-up even increased by almost 19%. This reflects the trend that top-equipped and rather small-scale office space in the best micro-locations in particular continues to be the focus of demand, whereas larger contracts are less common and older existing properties in peripheral locations are becoming increasingly difficult to market. This is the result of the analysis by BNP Paribas Real Estate.
“In line with this, only one major letting has been registered in the first six months so far: In the submarket 3.5 Leipzig-West, the public sector has rented around 5,200 m² of office space in the first quarter. The most significant deal of the last three months is the deal of a service company for 4,300 m² in the city peripheral zone Graphisches Viertel/Prager Straße. All other deals within the Leipzig market area fell below the 2,000 m² mark,” explains Stefan Sachse, Managing Director and Leipzig Branch Manager of BNP Paribas Real Estate GmbH.
In the case of prime rents, it is currently becoming apparent that the sideways movement will continue. This means that the €21.00/m² that has already been applied to premium space in city locations since Q4 2024 will still apply. The average rent is also stable, unchanged at €13.50/m² since the end of 2025.
Services sector and public sector leading the way
Against the background that there has been no decisive sales driver in the first half of the year to date, the industry distribution of the overall result is comparatively broad. Accordingly, the collective category of various service providers (“other services”) leads the user ranking and is responsible for more than half of the volume (a good 51%) and almost every second deal (47% of deals). It is also worth mentioning the public administration, which was able to generate a market share of just under 22% through the largest contract in the first six months, while all other sectors fall below the 10% threshold.
The vacancy rate at the end of June 2026 amounted to 249,000 m², which corresponds to an increase of 26% in a 12-month comparison. The vacancy rate rose slightly to 6.1% and, unlike at the end of the second quarter of 2025 (4.9%), is now noticeably above the fluctuation reserve.
On the other hand, there has been a further shortage of space under construction and the share of construction volume still available to the rental market. In total, there are currently only around 39,000 m², 82% of which have already been pre-let. Behind this are only a few properties that are currently available for rent in Leipzig in the first-occupancy segment.
Prospects
“The structural change that began last year has continued in Leipzig’s office market. Although the market dynamics are not sustainably expressed in take-up, they are reflected in the smaller and modern space segments. In any case, the fact that the number of deals is almost at the previous year’s level, while the letting volume is currently not yet able to keep pace, shows that the office market in the trade fair city has by no means come to a standstill,” says Hannes Baderschneider, Leipzig branch manager of BNP Paribas Real Estate GmbH.
In this context, it must always be taken into account that the economic upturn expected at the beginning of the year has failed to materialise and that geopolitical risks have increased rather than decreased. In addition, the impact of AI tools on the labor market cannot yet be assessed, but on the other hand, it is still beginning to employ many companies.
On the supply side, the rising vacancy rate continues to be offset by the continuously decreasing rental opportunities in the first-occupancy segment. As a result, only a few sub-markets currently offer opportunities to occupy new construction space, while the marketing of older existing properties is increasingly challenging.
Against the background of the framework conditions outlined above, the rent level for the coming months and quarters can be expected to continue to develop steadily.
