Commercial real estate investment remains well above 2025 levels, while residential investment shows stable performance
According to analyses by Cushman & Wakefield, the combined transaction volume of commercial and residential real estate investments in Germany totalled €23.6 billion during the first nine months of 2026. Compared with the first three quarters of the previous year (€21.93 billion), this represents an increase of 8%. At the half-year mark, growth compared with the same period of the previous year had still stood at 20%.
The commercial sector* accounted for a transaction volume of €17.85 billion. Although this result remains clearly positive, with an increase of 11% compared with the first nine months of 2025, the pace of growth has slowed significantly compared with the half-year result, when growth still stood at 25%.
Compared with long-term averages, however, transaction volumes remain clearly below historical levels, showing a decline of 29% against the five-year average and 44% against the ten-year average.
The residential investment market contributed €5.75 billion to the overall transaction volume, representing an almost stable result compared with the same period last year (€5.84 billion).
“Unlike last year, Germany's real estate investment market experienced a stable yet ultimately rather subdued summer from an investment perspective. The crises that emerged during the spring, particularly the conflicts in the Middle East and their consequences for inflation, energy costs and interest rates, coupled with a political leadership that demonstrated willingness but little determination over the summer to push forward necessary reforms with bold measures, resulted in what was, viewed in isolation, the second-weakest quarter of the last two years,” comments Simon Jeschioro, Head of Capital Markets & Investment Advisory Germany at Cushman & Wakefield.
Strong summer: Logistics overtakes office sector
With an increase of 18% to approximately €4.1 billion and a market share of 23%, the logistics and industrial sector emerged as the strongest asset class nationwide after the first nine months of 2026. Unsurprisingly, one of the sector's transactions ranked as the largest commercial deal of the third quarter: CBRE IM's acquisition of a logistics portfolio from Blackstone.
The logistics and industrial sector was followed by the office sector, which recorded €3.76 billion in transaction volume (21% share). A comparatively modest decline of 2% in absolute terms underlines the resilience of the office asset class. Jeschioro comments: “It must also be acknowledged that other asset classes, not only within the commercial sector but also in residential real estate, are currently attracting stronger investor interest, particularly among the largest transactions. Above all, they are benefiting from portfolio transactions, which are currently only rarely seen in the office market.”
The significant gap to the remaining asset classes is notable, particularly the sharp decline in the retail investment market, where transaction volume almost halved compared with Q1-Q3 2025 to €2.2 billion. In addition, the hotel sector recorded a decline of almost 40% to €960 million and ended the first nine months with a share of 5% of commercial transaction volume, compared with nearly €1.6 billion and a 10% share in the previous year.
The share of the “Other” category remains high at 38%. Within this category, healthcare real estate continues to benefit statistically from the portfolio transactions completed during the first quarter.
Also noteworthy is the strong presence of land acquisitions among transactions in this category, many of which were completed at remarkably high prices. The most prominent example was the acquisition of a development site in Schöneck in the Rhine-Main region by Amazon Web Services for approximately €220 million, with the Municipality of Schöneck acting as seller. Another major transaction was PGIM's acquisition of a data centre project in Unterschleißheim. Overall, three of the five largest transactions within the “Other” category were land acquisitions. These transactions alone generated an investment volume of around €600 million.
Regional development: Düsseldorf surpasses the €1 billion threshold – Frankfurt remains positive but below €1 billion
Among Germany's top seven markets, the trends observed during the first six months were largely confirmed. Düsseldorf continues to record the strongest year-on-year growth. The capital of North Rhine-Westphalia surpassed the €1 billion threshold with a substantial increase of 48% to €1.02 billion after nine months, closing the gap to Munich (€1.31 billion, -13% year-on-year), Berlin (€1.14 billion, -53%) and Hamburg (€1.07 billion, -41%).
Frankfurt was the only other major market to record significant growth, posting an increase of 20% year-on-year. Nevertheless, it ranked fifth after the first nine months, with transaction volume reaching €858 million. The smaller metropolitan markets of Cologne and Stuttgart also recorded declines compared with the same period last year.
Market remains challenging and highly selective
Simon Jeschioro concludes: “Within Germany's commercial real estate market, investment activity remains focused on prime locations offering stable cash flows and long-term usability. Overall, the market is undergoing a structural shift towards selective investments, resilient cash flows and future-proof products. The divergence between modern and outdated office properties continues to widen. Older assets are coming under increasing pressure, as rising refurbishment requirements and changing occupier preferences are having a growing impact on their economic viability.
Price discovery in the prime segment is well advanced, while non-prime assets require additional discounts to adequately reflect capital expenditure and leasing risks.”
*Commercial real estate includes office, retail, logistics & industrial, hotel and other asset classes (mixed-use properties, development sites, healthcare real estate, etc.).
