Demand for office space in Cologne remains consistently high. However, due to a lack of planning certainty in a challenging economic and geopolitical environment, many companies are hesitant to actually follow through on leasing decisions that are already well advanced. Instead of signing new leases, many tenants—after careful consideration—are opting to extend their existing leases or postponing their planned moves indefinitely.
“The demand is there. What’s missing in many places is the planning certainty needed to make a binding decision,” says Alexander Wunderle, Managing Partner (Office & Investment) at Angermann NRW.
This reluctance to finalize deals is also affecting leasing performance: space take-up in the first half of 2026 totaled approximately 74,000 m², which was just under 30% below the previous year’s figure.
Large-scale searches, rare deals
Companies with significant space requirements, in particular, are intensively exploring the market and conducting search processes that sometimes span months, and in some cases even years. Nevertheless, these processes currently rarely result in concrete deals, as many tenants ultimately decide to remain in their existing spaces. High-volume leases therefore remained the exception in the first half of the year. Market activity was once again dominated primarily by small- and medium-sized space leases.
Location and Quality Trumph Price
Geographically, demand continues to be clearly concentrated on central and well-connected locations. The city center, including Deutz, accounts for approximately 53% of space turnover. This makes this submarket by far the most important office location in Cologne. It is striking that rents here are noticeably higher than in other office hot spots. Thus, tenants do not automatically opt for less expensive locations.
“Anyone planning a relocation is primarily looking for quality, accessibility, and the location’s prestige. In short: location and quality trump price,” says Alexander Wunderle.
Falling average rents are not a sign of reduced willingness to pay
This pattern is also reflected in rental trends. The prime rent remains at a high level of 32.10 €/m², while the average rent has declined to 17.80 €/m²—though this is not a sign of a declining willingness to pay.
“Rather, the decline is primarily attributable to the low number of high-quality new construction projects and premium leases during the reporting period, which would otherwise have driven the average up more sharply. Demand for modern office space in prime downtown locations remains consistently high,” explains Alexander Wunderle.
Market Polarization Intensifies
The vacancy rate has increased moderately by approximately 10,000 m² compared to the end of 2025, reaching 460,000 m². The vacancy rate thus rose from 5.47% to 5.60%. At the same time, the market’s polarization is becoming more pronounced.
“Modern spaces in established office locations continue to offer good leasing prospects. Older existing properties outside of prime locations, on the other hand, are coming under increasing pressure. Here, leasing success is now determined primarily by incentives, the quality of the fit-out, parking spaces, and the speed of decision-making,” says Alexander Wunderle.
Outlook: Office space take-up of around 160,000 m² for the full year 2026 is realistic
The current trend in the Cologne office market is not due to a lack of attractiveness. Rather, the lack of planning certainty and the overall economic environment are currently the main factors slowing down market activity. For the full year 2026, Angermann NRW expects a take-up of approximately 160,000 m².
“Should the environment stabilize sustainably, some of the leasing decisions currently on hold are likely to result in concrete deals in the short term,” predicts Alexander Wunderle.