Office take-up in the first half of 2026 remains broadly in line with the previous year
According to Cushman & Wakefield, office take-up in the Düsseldorf office market (including Düsseldorf, Neuss and Ratingen) reached approximately 61,400 sq m in the second quarter of 2026. This result is slightly below the level recorded in the same quarter of the previous year (down 6%), but exceeds the five-year average for second quarters by 10%. Total office take-up for the first half of 2026 amounted to 102,400 sq m, broadly matching the level achieved during the same period last year.
Stable Second Quarter – Major Letting Provides Positive Momentum
The Düsseldorf office market closed the first half of 2026 with total take-up of 102,400 sq m. Compared with the corresponding period of the previous year (103,100 sq m), this represents only a marginal decline of 1%.
Despite this stable year-on-year performance, leasing activity remains below longer-term averages: take-up was 11% below the five-year average and around 30% below the ten-year average. Against the backdrop of current market conditions, however, the result points to an ongoing stabilisation of the Düsseldorf office leasing market.
The second quarter was significantly influenced by a major transaction. With KPMG leasing more than 17,000 sq m at ONE PLAZA on Kennedydamm, the market recorded its first office deal exceeding 10,000 sq m for some time. Aside from this transaction, activity continued to be characterised predominantly by smaller and medium-sized lettings of up to 5,000 sq m.
Martin Höfler, Head of Office Agency Düsseldorf and Regional Manager West at Cushman & Wakefield, comments:
“The second quarter demonstrates that demand in the Düsseldorf office market remains resilient. KPMG’s major letting has provided a positive signal, but the market remains highly selective. Many occupiers continue to scrutinise location decisions carefully, favour short-term certainty and often remain in their existing premises. Among larger occupiers in particular, lengthy planning and commitment horizons continue to result in cautious decision-making.”
Demand in the second quarter was once again strongly concentrated in established central and fringe-city locations. Supported by the KPMG transaction and several medium-sized deals, the Kennedydamm submarket accounted for more than one-third of total quarterly take-up, reinforcing its position as one of Düsseldorf’s most sought-after office locations.
From an occupier perspective, the strongest activity during the first half of the year came from professional services firms, construction and real estate companies, and organisations operating within the healthcare sector.
Prime Rent Remains Stable – Average Rent Supported by High-Quality Leasing Activity
Prime rent remained unchanged from the previous quarter at €46.00 per sq m per month. Compared with Q2 2025, this represents an increase of 2.2%. In contrast, the average rent continued to rise, reaching €21.60 per sq m per month at the end of the second quarter. This represents an increase of 3.3% quarter-on-quarter and 11.9% year-on-year.
The rise in average rents while prime rents remain stable reflects the increasingly pronounced segmentation of the market. Modern, high-quality and well-connected office space is making up a growing share of completed transactions, while older stock and more peripheral locations face increased pressure.
As a result, leasing activity is shifting towards higher rental brackets without necessarily driving further short-term growth in headline prime rents.
Martin Höfler adds:
“Rental trends clearly demonstrate that quality remains the key driver of the Düsseldorf office market. While occupiers are selective in their location decisions, they continue to accept higher rental levels for modern, flexible and well-connected office space. Against this backdrop, we expect prime rents to remain stable over the remainder of the year, with potential for further growth should demand continue to strengthen.”
Vacancy Consolidates – Growth Momentum Slows
At the end of Q2 2026, vacant office space in the Düsseldorf market totalled approximately 1.09 million sq m, corresponding to a vacancy rate of 11.4%. This places the vacancy rate broadly in line with the previous quarter and just under one percentage point above the level recorded a year earlier.
Following the steady increases seen in recent quarters, vacancy levels now appear to be entering a period of consolidation. This development is being supported by stable leasing activity, moderate completion volumes and the conversion of office space to alternative uses, all of which have limited the growth of overall office stock.
The share of sublease space within total vacancy has declined slightly and currently stands at 5.8%, suggesting that some of the additional space brought to market in recent periods has either been absorbed or transferred into conventional leasing processes.
At the same time, longer-term structural trends remain influential. Many companies continue to reassess their space requirements and pursue more efficient workplace strategies. Flexible working models, desk-sharing concepts and evolving workplace practices are increasingly leading occupiers to seek smaller—but higher-quality—office footprints.
Martin Höfler concludes:
“The Düsseldorf office market remains in a phase of stabilisation. A positive development is that vacancy growth has recently lost momentum, while larger occupier requirements are providing fresh demand impulses. We expect further large-scale transactions during the second half of the year, which should support leasing activity. If the requirements currently active in the market are successfully converted into transactions, office take-up should continue to stabilise.”
