Record-breaking result for Cologne’s investment market: transaction volume of EUR 3.8 billion

In their latest press release, the property experts from Greif & Contzen announce that a new record result was achieved in Cologne’s property market in 2021, when commercial real estate for a total of around 3.8 billion euros was traded. The sale of the fund properties Rheinpark-Metropole and Koelnmesse for a combined total of 1,100 million euros made a significant contribution to the overall result.

Investors demonstrated great faith in Cologne’s property market in recent months, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. While the first few months of the year had still been characterised by some restraint, the investment volume increased rapidly towards the end of the year. The market participants’ concerns decreased in line with the progress of measures taken to fight the pandemic, and interest in the commercial property market of the city on the Rhine peaked towards the end of the year: the turnover generated in the last three months of 2021 was 200 percent higher than the combined total generated in the first three quarters of the year.

Greif & Contzen expects Cologne’s real estate investment market to continue developing positively, despite the fact that COVID-19 will remain an uncertain factor over the coming months. The policy of the European Central Bank will have a strong impact on the market. If the previous announcements of a low interest level are put into practice, it is to be expected that there will be many further property transactions including those on a large scale. The property investment market will continue to experience an enormous influx of capital, if the central banks do not realise an increase of interest rates, thus giving rise to a lack of alternative secure long-term investment opportunities. As a result, Cologne will then remain an interesting market for national and international investors.