CONTACT US
Share: Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn I recommend visiting cushmanwakefield.com to read:%0A%0A {0} %0A%0A {1} Share on Xing

Decline in Top Investment Deals in Germany

Verena Bauer • 21/11/2024

According to a recent analysis by Cushman & Wakefield, one of the world's largest real estate consultancies, 40 transactions of 100 million euros or more were recorded on the German real estate investment market in the first three quarters of 2024. Their total volume amounted to 10.8 billion euros. This is significantly more than in the same period of the previous year (31 deals/8.1 billion), but the numbers still fall short of the peak values seen before the interest rate turnaround in 2022. For comparison: In 2021, 109 such large deals were completed, and in 2020, there were 157.

‘A look at the individual asset classes shows that office properties experienced the strongest decline. While the transaction volume for deals over €100 million was still 12 billion euros in 2022, only 1.0 billion euros were transacted in this segment in the first nine months of 2024. Especially the uncertainties regarding future office space demand after the COVID-19 pandemic, the interest rate turnaround in 2022, and the resulting increase in financing costs have contributed to this massive reduction,’ comments Tina Reuter, Head of Germany at Cushman & Wakefield.

Logistics and Industrial Properties, Retail & Hotels Largely Stable
Only slight declines were recorded in the logistics and industrial asset class. This applies to both the number of transactions and the transaction volume, which is roughly in line with previous years, except for 2022. The same trend applies to the hotel sector and retail properties.

Residential Property
The residential sector also saw a decline; however, transactions are stabilising and are roughly in line with the results of the previous two years (Q1-3/2024: 11 deals, volume: €3.4 billion). Nevertheless, both the number of transactions and their volume in the over €100 million range are significantly lower compared to 2020 (25/6 billion) and 2021 (29/16 billion).

Sellers Under Pressure, New Buyer Structures
By the end of September, sellers increasingly included insolvent developers, or their insolvency administrators, as well as companies facing liquidity shortages. At the same time, some of the acquisitions were made by municipal entities purchasing properties for their own use. Examples include the City of Cologne with the acquisition of the northern area of the trade fair grounds in the cathedral city and the purchase of Rossio office project.

High international interest
A notable feature is the high proportion of international buyers in major transactions.  Foreign investors accounted for 53 per cent of large deals, significantly exceeding the overall market share of 35 per cent for international buyers.

Another emerging trend is the rise of off-market deals. While structured sales processes dominated in previous years, particularly during investment market boom, many major transactions were concluded without brokers and structured processes by the end of September 2024. This reflects the changing dynamics of the investment market, where buyers and sellers are increasingly opting for more flexible and direct negotiation methods.

Helge Zahrnt, Head of Research & Insight Germany at Cushman & Wakefield, on the expected developments by year-end: ‘We anticipate that market conditions will continue to stabilise, although risks and uncertainties persist. The German market remains particularly attractive to international investors, who can benefit from falling prices. We expect a commercial transaction volume for the overall market of around €25 billion in 2024, representing a 16 per cent increase compared to the previous year.’

Top Investment Deals 2024 - Number of transactions

Top Investment Deals 2024 - Transactions from 100 milllion Euro

MEDIA CONTACT

verena bauer
Verena Bauer

Head of Business Development Services, Germany • 60311 Frankfurt am Main

RECENT NEWS

Residential buildings surrounded by trees
Residential property investments – Strong first half of 2025

Cushman & Wakefield recorded a transaction volume of €3.86 billion on the German residential real estate market in the first half of 2025, representing an increase of 26 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Verena Bauer • 07/07/2025

Modern office space
Cautious momentum on the German office letting markets

Cushman & Wakefield recorded office take-up of around 573,000 m² in the five most important office locations in Germany (Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich) in the second quarter of 2025. This is 2 per cent more than in the same period of the previous year.

Verena Bauer • 07/07/2025

Healthcare personnel, doctors and nurses walking in hospital hallway
Healthcare real estate market stagnates in second quarter

Cushman & Wakefield recorded a transaction volume of around €194 million on the German healthcare real estate market in the second quarter of 2025. Due to the strong previous quarter, the investment volume for the entire first half of the year totalled around €887 million.

Verena Bauer • 07/07/2025

INSIGHTS

Modern dining room with colourful chiairs and hanging lights
Insights

Regulation in the German Housing Market

Update for Investors: What legal changes will the new federal government bring?

Jan-Bastian Knod • 24/06/2025
Rethinking European Offices
Insights

Rethinking European Offices

Our report “Rethinking European Offices” examines at the risk of obsolescence in 16 key European cities. The findings reveal that the majority of Europe's office real estate stock is at risk of becoming obsolete by 2030.
18/12/2024
Cushman & Wakefield Investment Atlas 2024
Insights

The Investment Atlas Q3 2024

Your Strategic Compass in the World of Commercial Real Estate Investment
05/11/2024

CAN'T FIND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR?

Get in touch with one of our professionals.
With your permission we and our partners would like to use cookies in order to access and record information and process personal data, such as unique identifiers and standard information sent by a device to ensure our website performs as expected, to develop and improve our products, and for advertising and insight purposes.

Alternatively click on More Options and select your preferences before providing or refusing consent. Some processing of your personal data may not require your consent, but you have a right to object to such processing.

You can change your preferences at any time by returning to this site or clicking on Cookies.
MORE OPTIONS
AGREE AND CLOSE
These cookies ensure that our website performs as expected, for example website traffic load is balanced across our servers to prevent our website from crashing during particularly high usage.
These cookies allow our website to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you are in) and provide enhanced features. These cookies do not gather any information about you that could be used for advertising or remember where you have been on the internet.
These cookies allow us to work with our marketing partners to understand which ads or links you have clicked on before arriving on our website or to help us make our advertising more relevant to you.
Agree All
Reject All
SAVE SETTINGS