2008 German Office Forecast Is Sunny

FRANKFURT-Economic development remains strong in Germany and the office market here is primed for a solid year in 2008. So says the Atisreal’s, a commercial property consultant, in its Office Market Report 2008 due to come out in February. Vacant space has fallen nationwide, while peak rents and construction activity are up.

According to the advanced report, last year was the strongest year for German office space, with the exception of the boom year of 2000. In the nine most important German office locations–Berlin, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich and Stuttgart–the aggregate turnover of office space in 2007 was 39.8 million sf. That represents a year-on-year rise of 14.5%.

“As was anticipated at the end of 2006, office markets continued to pick up in 2007 and the positive overall economic development led to a further climb in turnover,” says Peter Rösler, chairman of Atisreal Germany. Growth was fuelled by very lively demand in all market segments. “This performance indicates a stable and lastingly expanding market,” says Rösler.