Industrial market Hamburg 2Q2022: Agreements for new-builds play major role

In the 1st half of 2022 the market for industrial and logistics space in Hamburg and the environs was dominated by new-builds. To date, nine agreements for premises offering more than 10,000 m² of space were signed; five of these, accounting for close to 100,000 m² of take-up, were signed off-plan and two were building starts for owner-occupiers, which added 33,500 m² to the total. “At present there is a shortage of available buildings in Hamburg. Demand is so high that many new-build developments are often fully let before they are completed. That in turn has an effect on rents,” says Felix Krumreich, consultant for industrial and logistics real estate at Grossmann & Berger, a member of German Property Partners (GPP). Take-up of space in the 1st half year totalled 250,000 m², equally divided between the 1st and 2nd quarters. The result was thus higher than both the five-year and the ten-year average of some 230,000 m². However, compared with the exceptional 1st half year of 2021 take-up of space was about 27 % lower. 

Market details:

• The three biggest agreements signed in the 2nd quarter were concluded for new-build space. Whereas in 2021 34 % of take-up volume was concluded in the €4.51 to €5.00/m²/month price category, the focus of letting activity shifted year on year so that 46 % fell into to the €5.51/m²/month category (2Q2021: 31 %).
• This shift pushed both the average and premium rents up by more than 7.5 % each. At the end of June the premium rent was €6.90/m²/month, the average rent €5.60/m²/month.
• Owner-occupiers made up 27 % of the market in the 1st half year. At the same time, the number of such agreements was halved from thirteen to seven. “Buildings commissioned for owner-occupiers are considerably bigger than last year, because most contracts were signed by logistics firms and forwarders, whose businesses require large amounts of space per se,” says Krumreich. 
• Year on year the proportion of agreements for properties sized 10,000 m² or more rose from 44 % to 66 %. All other size categories comprised less than 15 % of the market.
• Another agreement for over 20,000 m² was the biggest posted in the 2nd quarter. Online furniture dealer SoBuy Commercial is leaving its premises in Rahlstedt, formerly Globetrotter’s central warehouse, and renting 22,100 m² of storage space and 715 m² of offices in a new logistics development offered by Garbe Industrial Real Estate in Stapelfeld.
• Retail/wholesale and logistics & forwarding were the predominant industries, accounting, respectively, for 51 % of take-up (2Q2021: 26 %) and 40 % (2Q2021: 55 %). Retail/wholesale concluded six of the nine agreements for more than 10,000 m² of space, logistics and forwarding firms three.
• Year on year the Hamburg South sub-market pulled ahead of Hamburg East to take 34 % of the market (2Q2021: 30 %). Among the reasons for this result are three large-volume agreements and the complete letting of space in the “Mach2 / Four Parx Hamburg” on Reiherstieg-Hauptdeich in Wilhelmsburg district.