After numerous business closures during the Corona pandemic, there is more demand for retail space in major German cities.
In the first six months of this year, around 275,000 square meters were newly let in the inner cities, according to a study published on Tuesday by the major bank BNP Paribas. That was the highest interim result since 2019 (around 280,000 square meters), but is still a long way from the peak value of 514,000 square meters from the first half of 2014.
Fashion retailers follow fashion retailers
According to the information, 160,000 newly rented square meters were retail space, each covering more than 1,000 square meters. More than half of these large areas have previously been used by textile and department stores such as Galeria, C&A, H&M and Zara. Most of the free space (100,000 square meters) has now been occupied by retailers from the fashion industry.
The top rents, which collapsed during the pandemic, are now stable at a lower level, as the study further breaks down. Accordingly, Munich remains the most expensive market with prime rents of EUR 310 per square meter, ahead of Frankfurt (EUR 285), Düsseldorf (EUR 280) and Berlin (EUR 250). The fact that new rentals increased significantly again across the board is due to the increased willingness of landlords to compromise. (dpa)