Frankfurt office vacancies fall

Take-up of office space in Frankfurt dropped “moderately” in the first six months of the year, according to Knight Frank. Take-up amounted to just over 203,000 sq m, which was 6.6% down compared with the same period of 2012 - a fall that is primarily a result of a reduced number of large-scale deals,

Despite that, though, vacancy rates continued to decrease to 11.9 per cent from 12.1 per cent at the start of the year - and a continuation of a trend that has existed for the last three years. This is partly due to older office buildings being demolished or converted to other uses, reducing the available office supply in the city. Indeed, Knight Frank notes that many occupiers are now electing to stay in their existing premises and improve their space rather than relocate to newer, high-quality premises.

118,500 square metres of new office space was brought onto the market in the first half of 2013. Such is demand that 80 per cent of that has already been leased.

This strong demand pushed prime rents up 4.2 per cent in the first six months of the year, hitting €37.50 per month. Average rents, meanwhile, decreased slightly. Both are predicted to stay stable throughout the rest of 2013.