Listenchampion, a provider of property databases, recorded a total of 437 acquisitions of German properties in the first half of 2026. This analysis highlights a structural shift in the German investment market. Residential properties positioned themselves as the preferred asset class, while office properties accounted for only about one in ten deals. On the buyer side, family offices, private investors, and specialised portfolio holders characterised market activity.
The continuous recording and processing of publicly known property transactions is carried out systemically by Listenchampion, categorised by asset classes, regions, and participating buyers and sellers. The data, provided via their own transaction portal, covers transactions from 1 January to 30 June 2026, which averages more than two acquisitions per calendar day.
Market shares by asset class and region
The residential asset class was strongest represented with 123 transactions, corresponding to 28 percent of the total market activity. Office properties, however, only reached 47 transactions, representing a market share of 10.8 percent. Logistics and light industrial properties accounted for almost 16 percent of deals, but represented the largest traded area with over 1.8 million square metres. Healthcare and nursing properties established themselves as an independent market segment with 23 transactions (5.3 percent). The combination of residential, mixed-use, and retail contributed nearly two-thirds of the total market with 278 transactions. The retail segment proved robust with 73 transactions, primarily driven by retail parks and neighbourhood shopping properties.
Regarding area figures, a differentiated picture emerges. The sum of the recorded usable areas for which data was available amounted to over 4.3 million square metres. Of this, approximately 1.2 million square metres were logistics properties and a further almost 600,000 square metres were light industrial areas. Significant transactions in the first half of the year included the acquisition of a logistics portfolio in the Duisburg/Düsseldorf area of approximately 180,000 square metres by Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust, the acquisition of a 139,000 square metre logistics package by Prologis from Union Investment, and a residential portfolio of approximately 115,000 square metres acquired by Breevast.
Players and regional distribution
North Rhine-Westphalia led the federal state ranking with 101 transactions, followed by Bavaria with 65 and Baden-Württemberg with 48 transactions. At city level, Berlin (35), Munich (31), and Hamburg (22) were at the top, with increasing activity noted in B and C cities such as Duisburg, Bremen, Nuremberg, and Bonn. Family offices and private investors were responsible for approximately 14 percent of acquisitions, indicating a strategic utilisation of the current market phase by equity-strong players. The most active buyers included the Saller Unternehmensgruppe (6 transactions), Deutsche Fachmarkt AG (DEFAMA) and TSC Real Estate (5 each), as well as VK Immobilien Gruppe, IMAXXAM and DPI Deutsche Projekt Invest (4 each). Other active buyers included HIH Invest Real Estate, Aachener Grundvermögen, Deutsche Investment Kapitalverwaltung and BlueRock Group.
Manuel Zilly, Research Lead at Listenchampion, commented that the German property market was more dynamic than headlines often suggested. Activity was primarily driven by a multitude of medium-sized transactions, in which family offices, private investors, and specialised portfolio holders were significantly involved, rather than by large portfolio deals. A detailed analysis at transaction level was crucial to capture the current market movements in Germany.
