According to Cushman & Wakefield, office take-up in the Frankfurt market area (including the City of Frankfurt, Offenbach-Kaiserlei and Eschborn), comprising new lettings and owner-occupier transac-tions, totalled approximately 145,200 sq m in the first half of 2026. This represents a substantial decline compared with the exceptionally strong result rec-orded in the same period last year (H1 2025: 338,600 sq m), equating to a 57% year-on-year decrease.
Take-Up Remains Below an Exceptionally Strong Prior-Year Result
The first-half result was 31% below the five-year average (211,600 sq m) and 32% below the ten-year average (214,100 sq m).
In the second quarter of 2026, office take-up reached approximately 78,000 sq m, representing an increase of 16% compared with the previous quarter (Q1 2026: 67,200 sq m). However, the result was 46% lower than the level record-ed in Q2 2025 (144,000 sq m).
Market performance during the first half of the year reflects the still-cautious real estate strategies adopted by many occupiers.
Hanjo Theiss, Head of Office Agency & Office Sector Germany and Head of Office Agency Frankfurt at Cushman & Wakefield, comments:
“At mid-year, the Frankfurt office letting market remains highly selective, with occupiers continuing to assess space requirements very carefully. Demand remains firmly focused on high-quality space in prime locations. Decisions be-tween a ‘stay’ option—remaining in existing premises, albeit often under re-vised lease terms and with adjustments to workplace design—and a ‘go’ op-tion involving relocation to new premises now typically require considerably more lead time than they did a few years ago. At the same time, we continue to see strong demand for modern, market-ready office space, and rental growth remains achievable in the prime segment.”
The largest transaction of the first half of the year was DZ Bank’s owner-occupier commitment for approximately 20,800 sq m at Fifty Avon on Mainzer Landstrasse 50 in Frankfurt’s Banking District, agreed in the first quarter.
Other significant transactions included Fraport AG’s lease of approximately 5,800 sq m at The Squaire at Frankfurt Airport and Wilkie Farr & Gallagher’s lease of approximately 5,300 sq m in the Opernplatz 2 development within the Banking District, both signed during the second quarter.
Prime Rent Continues to Rise
The ongoing concentration of demand on modern, high-quality office space continues to support rental growth.
At the end of Q2 2026, Frankfurt’s sustainable prime rent increased to €53.00 per sq m per month, representing a 4% increase year-on-year.
In contrast, the weighted average rent stood at €29.10 per sq m per month, 10% below the level recorded during the same period last year. The excep-tionally high average rental level in 2025 was largely driven by several major city-centre and Banking District transactions, including those completed by Commerzbank, ING-DiBa and KPMG.
Hanjo Theiss adds:
“The growing gap between prime and average rents highlights the increasing differentiation within the market. While premium office space in central loca-tions continues to command strong rental levels, rental growth across many existing stock segments remains considerably more moderate. Quality, energy efficiency and location are becoming ever more important factors in occupier decision-making.”
Vacancy Increasing Primarily in Existing Buildings – Limited Supply of Modern Space Remains
At the end of June 2026, vacant office space in Frankfurt totalled approximate-ly 1.41 million sq m, resulting in a vacancy rate of 12.1%. This represents an increase of one percentage point compared with the same period last year.
The rise in vacancy is primarily attributable to additional space becoming available within existing office buildings. At the same time, the availability of modern office space in Frankfurt’s most sought-after submarkets remains sig-nificantly more limited than the overall vacancy rate might suggest.
Construction activity continues at a high level. By mid-year, approximately 374,700 sq m of office space was under construction across the Frankfurt market.
Of this development pipeline, 70% has already been pre-let or owner-occupied, a figure that stands six percentage points above the level recorded a year earlier and underlines the continuing strong demand for modern office accommodation.
A total of approximately 51,000 sq m of new office space was completed dur-ing the first half of 2026, significantly exceeding the volume delivered in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Among the projects completed during the second quarter was the fully let Phoenix office building in the Eschborn submarket, providing 13,700 sq m of office space.
Outlook – Repeat of Last Year’s Record Volume Not Expected
Hanjo Theiss concludes:
“The second half of the year is likely to remain heavily influenced by qualitative differences within the available office stock. While modern, ESG-compliant and well-connected space continues to benefit from solid demand, many older buildings face increasing competitive pressure. At the same time, the high pre-letting rate of ongoing developments demonstrates that occupiers remain will-ing to secure high-quality space well in advance when making long-term loca-tion decisions.”
