The German industrial and logistics real estate market achieved a take-up of approximately three million square metres in the first half of 2026. This marks an eleven percent increase compared to the same period last year and underscores the sector's positive development, despite a persistently challenging overall economic environment. Concurrently, the vacancy rate in the big-box logistics segment continued to decline, while prime rents in high-demand regions rose again. These findings are based on an analysis by the globally active real estate services provider CBRE.
Sarina Schekahn, Head of Industrial & Logistics Leasing Germany at CBRE, stated that the market is showing increasing resilience. She added that while overall economic momentum is developing cautiously, demand for space remains at a solid level. The market not only grew compared to the first half of 2025 but also compared to the first quarter of 2026. Particularly noteworthy is that available space is being absorbed more quickly than a year ago.
A key factor in this development is the renewed increase in leasing activity simultaneously with a decline in speculative project developments. Furthermore, new build areas are increasingly being let during the construction phase. In parallel, marketing periods for existing properties are shortening. These trends indicate improved market absorption capacity and a more balanced relationship between supply and demand. Vacancy in the big-box segment decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 4.6 percent compared to the end of the first half of 2025. The peak vacancy rate was reached at five percent at the end of 2025. Since then, vacancies, particularly in established logistics regions, have been declining, bringing the structural shortage of space more sharply into focus. Simultaneously, areas outside classic metropolitan regions are gaining importance as users increasingly resort to alternative locations.
E-commerce Dynamics and New Competitors
Following an already noticeable increase in demand from international online retailers in 2025, this trend continued in the first half of 2026. Companies from China and the USA increasingly acted as demand drivers for space, but pursued different strategies. American companies primarily sought large distribution centres in established logistics regions and in eastern Germany. Chinese companies, however, focused on small to medium-sized areas and expanded their site search beyond North Rhine-Westphalia to other regions of Germany, with East German locations gaining relevance due to limited space availability in West German metropolitan areas.
Dr. Jan Linsin, Head of Research Germany at CBRE, noted that demand for suitable logistics space is increasing from several directions. In addition to traditional industrial and logistics users, data centres and companies from the defence sector are increasingly competing for suitable land. The defence industry, which previously primarily operated through owner-occupancy, is increasingly influencing land availability, meaning that municipal development areas, in particular, are subject to greater competition from various types of use.
Rent Development and Automation Pressure
The continuously rising rents in many regions increase economic pressure on operators, particularly in the contract logistics business with its low margins. Consequently, investments in automation and AI-based processes are gaining significance. Linsin explained that automation is increasingly evolving from an efficiency issue into a competitive factor. Economically, such investments are particularly worthwhile for longer contract terms, although many users still prefer relatively short leases. The rent difference between modern new builds and existing properties remains significant, leading many users to increasingly examine whether higher rental costs can be offset by more efficient processes. Since the end of the first half of 2026, prime rents for logistics properties in the average of the top 5 markets rose by 3.2 percent. In secondary centres, an increase of 5.5 percent was recorded. The Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region showed the highest increase at six percent.
For the second half of the year, Schekahn predicts continued stable demand for space, making a take-up of six million square metres likely. The increasing activity of international trading companies in contract logistics is expected to support the market. At the same time, the supply of modern logistics space in many core regions remains limited, which is expected to put further pressure on prime rents.
