The Frankfurt office market started the first half of 2026 with take-up of around 169,800 m² and 279 deals. This result is 53% below that of the prior-year period, which was characterised by a number of major transactions. Kevin T. Nguyen, Managing Partner at blackolive in Frankfurt, noted that the very strong half-year result in 2025 was primarily due to an accumulation of large deals, some of which were the result of long-term negotiations. A repeat of this frequency was not to be expected.
In contrast to the first half of 2025, no deal exceeding 10,000 m² was registered during the reporting period, which highlights the concentration of demand on smaller office units. The largest transaction of the year was the owner-occupier purchase of “Fifty Avon” at Mainzer Landstraße 50 by DZ-Bank, comprising approximately 20,800 m². Other significant leases included around 6,000 m² by Fraport in “THE SQUAIRE” and approximately 5,300 m² by the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher at Opernplatz 2. Furthermore, d-fine leased about 4,600 m² in “ONE TWO ONE” and Jones Day circa 4,300 m² in “mainbuilding”.
Demand in the Frankfurt office market continued to focus on high-quality space in very good locations, but in smaller units than in the past, as Mr. Nguyen explained. This manifested itself in an increase in take-up in the 500 m² to 1,000 m² segment by over 20%. Demand in the 1,000 m² to 2,000 m² range proved stable, while space categories above 2,000 m² recorded declines of between 20% and almost 90%. The Airport and Frankfurt Ost II submarkets saw a significant increase in the number of contracts, although take-up at the airport fell by 34% and only rose by 41% in Frankfurt Ost II. The Banking District maintained its position as the strongest submarket with just under 56,900 m², while the entire Central Business District (Banking District, Westend and City) contributed around 53% of total take-up.
In the industry ranking, consulting firms took the lead for the first time, ahead of financial service providers, accounting for almost a quarter of total take-up in the first half of 2026, with around 24% or approximately 41,600 m². This was supported, among others, by leases from Willkie Farr & Gallagher, d-fine, Westbridge Advisory and Jones Day. Nevertheless, financial service providers remain prominently represented due to the owner-occupier purchase by DZ-Bank, with the owner-occupier share increasing to 14%. Kevin T. Nguyen noted that Frankfurt remains a financial metropolis, but is increasingly gaining profile as a location for knowledge-intensive service providers.
The divergence in rent development that began in the previous year continued. Prime rents in premium locations rose by EUR 5.00 to EUR 56.00/m² within twelve months. In contrast, the average rent fell from over EUR 30.00/m² to EUR 27.10/m², representing a decrease of approximately EUR 3.50 or 11% compared to the prior-year period. According to Mr. Nguyen, the main reason was the absence of large-volume, high-priced deals, such as those recorded in 2025 with Commerzbank in the “Central Business Tower” or White & Case in “Central Parx”. The scarcity of modern space in prime locations leads to an unabated rise in prime rents.
Office vacancy increased only slightly compared to the prior-year period, reaching approximately 1.50 million m² or a vacancy rate of 13.0%, which is only a 0.1 percentage point increase. A slight decrease was even observed compared to the end of the year and the previous month. Mr. Nguyen attributed this to the extremely low completion volumes of recent years. The development in submarkets is heterogeneous; while older properties and peripheral locations remain under pressure, consistently good letting performance prevents a further increase in vacancy in the CBD.
The completion volume for 2026 remains at a low level, with just under 119,300 m² across 14 projects, of which approximately 57% are already let. For 2027, an increase to just under 299,500 m² in 21 projects is expected, with a pre-letting rate of around 62%. The largest completion is the already fully let “Central Business Tower” in the Banking District with approximately 68,000 m². In the medium term, a supply shortage for modern, contiguous space in prime locations is to be expected, despite high vacancy rates and subdued demand, Mr. Nguyen summarised.
