According to Cushman & Wakefield, the Munich office lettings market has started 2026 with stable activity. In the first quarter of 2026, office space take-up totalled 139,200 m², remaining virtually unchanged from the same quarter of the previous year (Q1 2025: 138,100 m²). However, compared with the high-volume fourth quarter of 2025, which saw 158,900 m², transaction activity was lower at the start of the year.
“Following the intense end-of-year activity in 2025, the market, as expected, lost a little momentum in the first quarter of 2026, but remains at a pleasingly high level overall – this is particularly evident from the five-year comparison. Overall, the focus is less on short-term deal volume and more on strategically well-considered decisions,” says Matthias Hofmann, Head of Regional Branch Management Germany and Head of Office Agency Munich at Cushman & Wakefield.
Large deals stabilise take-up – number of deals down significantly
At 139,200 m², take-up in the first quarter of 2026 reached the five-year average, but remains 21 per cent below the ten-year average. With 82 deals comprising new lettings and owner-occupiers, transaction activity in the first quarter of 2026 was significantly below the level of the same quarter last year. The number of deals thus fell by around 57 per cent. At the same time, take-up was characterised by individual large-volume deals as well as several lettings in the mid-market segment.
The majority of space take-up, at 135,000 m², continued to be accounted for by lettings. Owner-occupiers once again played only a minor role, accounting for 4,200 m² – a pattern that had already become apparent during the course of 2025.
Two large-scale new lettings, each covering more than 20,000 m², which were completed in the North City Centre and the West City Centre, contributed significantly to the take-up. Among the largest deals was the letting of over 20,000 m² of office space to E.ON at Landsberger Straße 84–90. Together, these two major deals accounted for a good 30 per cent of total space take-up in the
first quarter of 2026.
This trend is clearly reflected in the sector analysis: not least due to the E.ON lease, the industry, transport and logistics sector stands out with a 45 per cent share of total space take-up. This is followed by the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector with a 30 per cent share. Together, these two sectors thus accounted for around three-quarters of the total volume.
At the sub-market level, too, take-up was predominantly concentrated in central locations. The City Centre West, where the E.ON lease was also finalised, accounted for 27 per cent of take-up, whilst the City Centre North reached a good 20 per cent. “The clear preference for inner-city office locations is also reflected in our discussions with our clients,” said Matthias Hofmann.
Prime rents remain at a high level – demand supports sustained rise in rents
Prime rents continued their upward trend in the first quarter of 2026, reaching €56.00/m². Compared with the same quarter last year, this represents an increase of around 3.7 per cent, whilst compared with the end of 2025, there was a rise of just under 2 per cent.
Average rents also continued to develop positively, standing at €27.10/m² in the first quarter. This represents a year-on-year increase of around 3.8 per cent and a slight rise of just under 1 per cent compared with the end of 2025. This rental trend thus underscores the continued stable demand for office space, particularly in sought-after locations.
Vacancy rates are rising – modern spaces with higher absorption potential
At the end of the first quarter of 2026, the office vacancy rate in Munich stood at around 1.94 million m². The vacancy rate stood at 8.8 per cent, around 1.2 percentage points higher than in the same quarter of the previous year (Q1 2025: 7.6 per cent). “Office space vacancy has risen further compared to both the same quarter of the previous year and the previous quarter. At the start of the year, the Grade A property category also recorded a disproportionately high increase in vacancy rates, although this mainly concerns modern, high-quality space which, due to its quality, remains easily lettable and is expected to be absorbed by the market more quickly. The structural rise in vacancy rates, on the other hand, continues to affect primarily Grade B and C properties with a greater need for modernisation,” explains Matthias Hofmann.
The volume of completions at the start of the year totalled 85,700 m² of office space, representing an increase of around 19 per cent compared with the same period last year. Of this space, 27 per cent is still available on the market. Completions included, among others, the owner-occupied project “HTM – Hoffmann Trapez München” in the west-south-west of the city, with around 27,000 m² of office space, the “M64 Gewerkschaftshaus München” with just over 20,000 m², and “BARER 24” with around 5,700 m² of office space, both in the western city centre.
“The Munich office lettings market will not enter a recovery phase in 2026, but rather a phase of further differentiation. Transactions are possible, but require clear product quality. Owners will increasingly have to assert themselves through investment, flexibility and repositioning,” says Matthias Hofmann.
