TOP 7 INVESTMENT MARKETS 4Q2025: A strong final quarter after a reluctant course of the year

By the end of 2025, the transaction volume in Germany's Top 7 markets for commercial real estate investments stood at around €10.7 billion, around 12% below the previous year's result. Nevertheless, €4.41 billion were transacted in the fourth quarter alone – an increase of around 30% on the same period of 2024 and a share of 41% of the total volume for 2025. This made the final quarter by far the strongest in terms of turnover. The willingness of private investors and family offices to invest was striking, with high market shares in several cities.

Markus Müller, spokesperson for German Property Partners (GPP): “There was noticeably more momentum in the Top 7 markets in the fourth quarter. Particularly in Cologne, Stuttgart, Munich and Berlin, both larger and numerous smaller single asset deals contributed to the upturn in market activity. However, these regional impulses were not enough to reverse the overall annual result: five out of seven cities closed with a lower transaction volume than in 2024.”

• The most significant declines in transaction volume were recorded in Frankfurt (€602 million, –57%), Düsseldorf (€700 million, –31%), Stuttgart (€360 million, –20%) and Hamburg (€1.9 billion, –14%). Munich remained just below the previous year's figure (–2%) at €2.38 billion. Berlin (€3.35 billion, +2%) and Cologne (€1.4 billion, +8%) were the only locations to see a slight increase.
• Office property accounted for 40% of the transaction volume in 2025, a significant increase in importance compared to only 29% in the previous year. This was followed by mixed-use property with 23% market share.
• Portfolio sales accounted for only 9% of the transaction volume in 2025, down from 13% in the previous year. No portfolio transactions were recorded in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt or Munich throughout the year.
• International investors contributed to 30% of the transaction volume in the Top 7 markets in 2025. In the previous year, this figure stood at 35%.
• On average, prime office yields in the Top 7 markets remained at the previous year's level (4.41%), while yields for logistics property dipped marginally to 4.49% (–0.03%.). The relevance of this figure is, however, limited, as only a few market-shaping core transactions were reported in 2025.

Müller forecasts: "We expect a moderate increase in transactions in 2026. Ongoing processes are likely to be finalised in several cities. In addition to core products, which remain in high demand in prime locations, the value-add segment is increasingly coming into focus – especially where development potentials meet stable demand. While the market environment remains challenging, it offers more scope again for attractive investments in selected products.”

 GPP is a commercial property network comprising Grossmann & Berger Immobilien, Anteon Immobilien, GREIF & CONTZEN Immobilien, blackolive and E & G Immobilien.