In its latest market report published at the start of the year, Greif & Contzen considers the previous year, as well as taking a look at the months ahead: Cologne’s office letting market stabilised in 2025, despite ongoing economic uncertainty, and is starting the new year with a cautiously optimistic attitude. The market is supported by demand from public sector users and a clear preference for high-quality office space.

Over the past year, Cologne’s office space market was typical of the overall economic situation that is characterised by uncertainty and weak business activity. Businesses tend to feel inhibited rather than optimistic, causing them to hesitate when it comes to making long-term or investment-related decisions. Demand in Cologne’s office space market remained subdued as a result. Many companies continue to act cautiously and tend to opt for renewing existing rental agreements, rather than looking for new space. Decisions concerning expansion or modernisation are frequently postponed.

Public institutions are the most important demander group
A small number of large units were let, for example, to the Atradius insurance company that took up around 7,700 square metres in the new MesseCity Köln neighbourhood that is located within sight of its existing premises. The most important demander group were, however, not traditional large-scale tenants from the private sector but public sector institutions. These accounted for around 33 percent of the total turnover. Among other transactions, the Jobcenter took up two new builds in Deutz and Vogelsang, with a total of over 30,000 m² of office space.

Slight increase in floor-space turnover
A slight increase in take-up of space could be observed for the second year in a row. A total of around 240,000 square metres were taken up; this corresponds to an increase of 14 percent compared to the previous year’s poor result (210,000 square metres). However, this figure is still some 17 percent below the ten-year average of around 291,000 square metres.

Rents on the rise due to high-price transactions
“Where contracts are concluded, tenants tend to prefer high-quality units in new and revitalised buildings, as well as existing buildings with a high fit-out standard. A number of contracts were therefore concluded in the high-price segment,” explains Andreas Reul, Head of the Office Properties Division of Greif & Contzen Immobilienmakler GmbH. As a result, the average rent increased slightly from EUR 20.30 to EUR 20.80 per square metre.

Increase in vacant space
While a moderate increase in rents and take-up of space could be observed on the one hand, the vacancy rate has also been rising on the other, standing currently at around 5.5 percent. This figure is still low compared to other large German cities; however, it is a sign of the market facing structural challenges, in particular when it comes to older or technically less attractive buildings for which there is less demand.

Outlook for 2026
“There are no signs suggesting a significant economic recovery will occur in the first few months of the new year. We still hope that demand for space will start to pick up in the second half of the year,” Andreas Reul says, adding that a number of companies are currently looking for large units and that there is steady demand for smaller units. “That’s why we expect take-up of space to be on a similar level in 2026 as was the case this year,” he concludes. Greif & Contzen’s researchers anticipate revitalised and newly built space to support Cologne’s office space market and for rents to remain stable over the next few months, owing to the fact that prospective tenants are frequently looking for modern office units with a high fit-out standard. Owners of existing buildings that no longer meet modern standards will, however, need to adjust rents to make their buildings more attractive and succeed in letting them. “Compared to recent years, Cologne’s office space market did manage to achieve a bit of a turnaround in 2025 on the whole. Whether this positive development will continue, will depend largely on whether any appreciable economic stimuli will occur in 2026, as well as on whether demand will go beyond the current level,” Andreas Reul summarises.