The German industrial and logistics real estate market continued its recovery in the third quarter of 2026. Take-up reached approximately 5.2 million square metres during this period, representing an 18 per cent increase compared to the previous year's result. A key factor in this development was the return of large-scale lettings of 10,000 square metres or more, which accounted for around 22 per cent of the total take-up.
Particularly noteworthy is the activity of the German Federal Armed Forces' clothing management, which leased several logistics properties, each exceeding 30,000 square metres. Additionally, lettings by the Asian e-commerce logistics company Goodcang shaped the market, securing a total of nearly 87,000 square metres of logistics space across three locations. The share of Asian companies in take-up rose to 15 per cent in the third quarter, a value significantly higher than that of the previous year.
Christian Kah, Head of Industrial & Logistics Germany at Colliers, underscores Germany's relevance within the European logistics network. He explains that against the backdrop of geopolitical developments and the necessity for resilient supply chains, the importance of the German market continues to grow. He also observes new demand impulses, particularly from Asia and the e-commerce sector, as well as a more concrete demand from defence-related sectors, which has already led to large-scale lettings. Further market revitalisation is expected in the coming quarters.
Regional Developments in the Top 8 Markets
The top 8 logistics regions achieved a total take-up of 2.0 million square metres by the end of the third quarter, representing a 14 per cent increase year-on-year. This marked the first time since the market slowdown began in 2023 that take-up reached the five-year average. Demand focused primarily on the small to medium-sized segment, with regional recovery dynamics varying.
Frankfurt led the ranking with 426,600 square metres, a 22 per cent increase year-on-year, driven by increased demand for spaces of 10,000 square metres or more, primarily from e-commerce companies. Cologne followed with 292,000 square metres, doubling its previous year's result, significantly influenced by Asian users, who accounted for 38 per cent of take-up. Hamburg recorded 274,900 square metres, Berlin 251,600 square metres, and Düsseldorf 244,900 square metres. The locations of Leipzig (180,400 square metres), Stuttgart (168,200 square metres), and Munich (131,500 square metres) were below the 200,000 square metre mark but showed strong demand in the smaller and medium-sized space segments.
The traditional user focuses of the regions remain. While markets such as Düsseldorf, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Berlin benefit from new market participants in retail and e-commerce, southern German regions are more strongly linked to the manufacturing industry and are therefore affected by more subdued industrial demand. New interdependencies are also emerging between established industrial clusters and growth sectors like defence and robotics, whose demand is increasingly concentrating on existing properties due to scarce space availability. The share of Asian users in the top 8 markets was 15 per cent, with concentrations in Cologne (38 per cent), Berlin (26 per cent), and Düsseldorf (25 per cent).
Rental Market Development and Outlook
The moderate year-on-year rental growth masks increasing dynamics at the quarterly level. After a period of largely stagnant rental levels, a revitalisation of the rental market is noticeable.
