The nationwide market for warehouse and logistics space experienced a noticeable revival in the first nine months of 2026. Take-up from lettings and owner-occupiers totalled around 5.36 million square metres. This represents an increase of around one million square metres, or 23 per cent, compared to the prior-year period of 4.36 million square metres. The five-year and ten-year averages were also slightly exceeded, by two and four per cent respectively. At 524 contracts, the total number of recorded transactions was exactly on par with the previous year.
The primary drivers of this growth were large-scale deals of 10,000 square metres or more. In this segment, 179 contracts were recorded, representing an increase of 33 transactions. While pure letting performance rose by 43 per cent year-on-year, owner-occupier volume fell by 26 per cent to around 907,600 square metres, accounting for a market share of just 17 per cent. Sebastian Bögel, Head of Industrial & Logistics Agency at JLL Germany, pointed out that, given an experienced typically strong fourth quarter, the seven-million-square-metre mark could be reached for the full year.
Take-up distribution and prime rents in core metropolitan areas
In the five leading metropolitan areas of Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich, the result remained stable year-on-year at 1.35 million square metres, but fell eight per cent short of the five-year average. Frankfurt retained the top position with 415,600 square metres and an increase of twelve per cent. It was followed by Hamburg with 279,300 square metres, Düsseldorf with 263,000 square metres and Berlin with 252,600 square metres. Munich registered the lowest take-up at 136,600 square metres. The strongest occupier group was the transport, traffic and warehousing sector with 605,600 square metres, including a lease by JD Logistics for around 40,000 square metres in Ludwigsfelde. Industrial companies accounted for 341,500 square metres, and retail businesses for 227,800 square metres.
The supply of space in the metropolitan areas remained constrained. At around 219,000 square metres, only half as much space was completed between January and September as in the prior-year period. At the time of completion, only 32 per cent was still available. Currently, around 883,000 square metres are under construction, with Berlin accounting for the largest share at 319,000 square metres. In the third quarter, prime rents for units of 5,000 square metres and above rose to EUR 11.00 in Berlin and to EUR 9.25 per square metre per month in Düsseldorf. Munich remained flat at EUR 11.00, while Frankfurt and Hamburg each reached EUR 8.50.
Strong growth outside the metropolitan regions
Outside the top five locations, momentum was significantly stronger, with take-up of around 4.02 million square metres, representing an increase of around one third compared to the prior-year period. The five-year average was exceeded by six per cent. Logistics service providers dominated activity with 1.91 million square metres and several major transactions exceeding 50,000 square metres, including contracts by Ceva Logistics in Frankfurt (Oder) and Lich, Maersk in Herleshausen, and ID Logistics in Alsdorf. The Ruhr region led the areas outside the metropolitan centres with 487,800 square metres, with Chinese companies accounting for 43 per cent of the volume.
