Office take-up rises 4% in Germany

Take-up in Germany's major eight office locations - Berlin, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig and Munich - rose by 4% year-on-year, accounting for some 656,000 m² in the first quarter of 2007, according to a survey prepared by commercial property consultant Atisreal.

Munich posted the biggest turnover with take-up reaching 190,000 m². The biggest owner-occupier deal (ADAC, 60,000 m2) was also registered here. Hamburg's take-up increased remarkably by 55% to 144,000 m². This result was fuelled by several large lettings (in particular one of 26,000 m² to Spiegel-Verlag). Düsseldorf was another city to report a substantial rise, with take-up rising 48% to 99,000 m². Other cities to achieve higher year-on-year figures were Essen and Frankfurt, where office take-up increased by 82% and 3% respectively. Cologne, Leipzig, and Berlin registered a consistent decline ( -41%, -36% and -25% respectively).

'Overall, though, 2007 has begun well,' emphasized Peter Rösler, Chairman of Atisreal Germany. 'Even in those cities with lower turnover there are extensive inquiries for premises and these are likely to boost take-up in the course of the year. For 2007 as a whole, we expect a result at least on a par with 2006 and perhaps even slightly better.'

Vacant space in the eight locations surveyed fell by over 4% compared with the same period last year, to just under 8.59 million m².

Click on the link below for more on the survey.