Office-letting market Hamburg 2q2024

Take-up activity was brisker in the 2nd quarter of 2024 than at the start of the year. Despite that, take-up of office space in the first half year failed to meet expectations, closing at some 205,000 m². This translates into a year on year decline of about 11 %. The office-letting environment remains difficult. Frequently, the process of renting a property drags on for a lengthy period because many companies remain very unsure about how business will develop. “At present there are some very interesting property searches on the market, so that the outlook for the second half year is promising. According to the forecasts, the German economy will start to grow again as the year progresses. However, experience shows that some time will elapse before the office market responds. We do not expect to see any appreciable market recovery until 2025, whereas 2024 is likely to close with a below-average total for take-up of space in Hamburg,” predicts Nils Larsen, head of office-letting Hamburg for Grossmann & Berger Immobilien, member of German Property Partners (GPP).