The analysis of the logistics and industrial property market in North Rhine-Westphalia, based on the submarkets of Düsseldorf, Cologne, and the Ruhr Area, shows a total space take-up of 624,300 m² for the first half of 2026. Of this, 578,400 m² accounted for warehouse space, representing a share of 93%. Warehouse space take-up exceeded the same period last year (H1 2025: 461,400 m²) by 25% or 117,000 m². The 5-year average of 462,766 m² was also surpassed by 25%, making the first half of 2026 the second strongest since 2014.
The five largest deals collectively contributed 199,270 m² to the total space take-up, representing a share of 32%. These included transactions by ID Logistics (70,000 m²) and Goodcang Logistics (41,920 m²) in Cologne, as well as Cencora (34,460 m²), Goodcang Logistics (30,000 m²) and Blitz Distribution (22,890 m²) in the Ruhr Area. Bülent Alemdag, Managing Director of REALOGIS Immobilien Düsseldorf GmbH, states that the high demand is due to the availability of existing spaces, as broad market dynamics are currently lacking.
Rents and Space Types: Stability and Focus on Existing Properties
Rents in North Rhine-Westphalia remained stable compared to the full year 2025 and the first half of 2025. Düsseldorf maintained its position as the most expensive submarket with prime rents of 8.25 EUR/m² and average rents of 7.00 EUR/m². In Cologne, prime rents were 8.00 EUR/m² and average rents were 6.85 EUR/m². For the Ruhr Area, prime rents of 7.75 EUR/m² and average rents of 6.50 EUR/m² were recorded.
Regarding space types, existing properties dominated the market in the first half of 2026, accounting for 494,740 m², which represents 79% of the total space take-up. New builds on former brownfields reached 113,360 m² (18%), while new builds on greenfield sites only accounted for 16,200 m² (3%). Owner-occupier transactions were not recorded during this period.
Submarkets and User Groups: Ruhr Area Leading
The Ruhr Area manifested itself as the strongest submarket in the first half of 2026, achieving a take-up share of 41% or 255,500 m². Düsseldorf followed with 193,000 m² (31%), while Cologne recorded 175,800 m² (28%). While Cologne and the Ruhr Area showed increases of 105% and 29% respectively, Düsseldorf recorded an 11% decline. All three submarkets are above their respective 5-year averages in terms of warehouse space take-up.
- —Logistics and freight forwarding represented the largest user group with 367,800 m² (59%).
- —Retail ranked second with 128,200 m² (21%), of which 83,200 m² came from e-commerce.
- —Industry and production contributed 92,600 m² (15%) to the total take-up.
- —Other sectors claimed 35,700 m² (5%).
Large-scale properties dominated the transactions; units from 10,001 m² made up 410,450 m² (66%) of the total space take-up. Spaces between 5,001 m² and 10,000 m² amounted to 145,200 m². Deals in the size categories 3,001 m² to 5,000 m² and 1,000 m² to 3,000 m² reached 32,700 m² and 31,550 m² respectively. Smallest spaces under 1,000 m² contributed 4,400 m².
