The REALOGIS Group, Germany’s leading consulting firm for industrial and logistics real estate as well as commercial properties, registered total take-up of 255,500 m² in the logistics and industrial real estate market in the Ruhr region in the first half of 2026. Of this, 237,800 m² or 93% was hall space, 10,000 m² (4%) office space and 7,700 m² (3%) mezzanine space.
Take-up of warehouse space was thus 53,400 m² or 29% higher than the previous year’s figure. The current 5-year average of 188,706 m² was exceeded by 26%. In the four previous first half of the year, sales of hall space had remained below the comparative value in each case. The five largest deals in the first half of 2026 totalled 129,550 m² and thus accounted for 51% of total take-up.
The largest leases included Cencora with 34,460 m², Goodcang Logistics with 30,000 m², Blitz Distribution with 22,890 m², Siemens Mobility with 21,700 m² and FlexiSpot with 20,500 m².
Bülent Alemdag, Managing Director of REALOGIS Immobilien Düsseldorf GmbH, which is also responsible for the Ruhr region, comments: “The Ruhr region achieved an above-average result in the first half of 2026. The high concentration on a few large-volume deals remains striking. This does not speak for a market with broad dynamics, but for selective demand where location, space layout and short-term availability fit together.”
Rents: Prime and average rents remained stable
Both the prime rent of €7.75/m² and the average rent of €6.50/m² remained unchanged compared to the same period last year and the end of 2025. Despite the sideways movement, the prime rent was 9% above the current 5-year average of €7.08/m². The average rent exceeded the 5-year average of €6.17/m² by 5%.
Take-up: Existing properties dominate the market
Lettings in existing properties dominated with 183,140 m² or 72% of total take-up. Three of the five largest deals were in this segment. Goodcang Logistics, Blitz Distribution and FlexiSpot together accounted for 73,390 m² and thus 40% of the inventory take-up.
This was followed by new buildings on former brownfields with 56,160 m² or 22%. The result in this category was generated entirely by the deals of Cencora and Siemens Mobility. At 16,200 m² (6%), new-build space on greenfield sites played a subordinate role.The Ruhr region remained a pure rental market in the first half of 2026. Owner-occupier contracts were not registered.
Types of buildings: Big box areas shaped the market
Big box space dominated the market with 175,700 m² or 69%. Properties that could not be assigned to either the category of big-box space or business parks followed with 54,900 m² (21%). Leases in business parks reached 24,900 m² (10%), occupying the smallest position within the building types.
Industries: Logistics/freight forwarding maintained top position
The highest letting activity in the first half of 2026 was accounted for by companies from the logistics/freight forwarding segment. The user group achieved take-up of 126,400 m² or 49%. The two deals of Goodcang Logistics and Blitz Distribution totalled 52,890 m² and thus accounted for 42% of the industry’s turnover.
Industry/production followed in second place with 68,600 m² or 27%. Cencora and Siemens Mobility together contributed 56,160 m² and had a significant impact on the result of this user group with a share of 82%.
Retail reached 46,200 m² or 18%. Within this user group, 27,000 m² (58%) was accounted for by e-commerce. FlexiSpot’s close contributed 20,500 sq ft, accounting for 76% of e-commerce sales. Traditional retail accounted for 19,200 m² (42%) of the trading result. Other sectors accounted for 14,300 m² or 6% of total take-up.
Size classes: Areas from 10,001 m² determined the result
Large spaces of 10,001 m² or more dominated the market with 149,550 m² or 59%. The five largest deals accounted for 87% of take-up in this size segment. Areas between 5,001 m² and 10,000 m² followed with 80,000 m² or 31%. Together, 90% of market activity was accounted for by areas of 5,001 m² or more.
The medium space category between 3,001 m² and 5,000 m² reached 17,400 m² or 7%. Smaller areas between 1,000 m² and 3,000 m² accounted for 7,650 m² (3%). With 900 m² and a market share of less than 1%, very small areas of less than 1,000 m² played only a subordinate role.
Key figures at a glance
- Take-up 255,500 m²
- Prime rent 7.75 €/m²
- Average rent 6.50 €/m²
- Existing properties 183,140 m² | New building on brownfield 56,160 m² |
New building on a greenfield site 16,200 m² - Tenants 255,500 m² | Owner-occupier 0 m²
