In cooperation with the Gesellschaft für Immobilienwirtschaftliche Forschung (gif), estate agents, project developers and owners, Bonn's economic development agency monitors letting activity and records it statistically according to standardized guidelines.

The statistics show a total take-up of 96,982 square meters on the Bonn office market in 2023. The overall result is made up of a total of 68 registered leases. Looking at previous years, there has been a decline for the past two years. The reason for the subdued take-up was inflation, in particular expensive energy prices and high interest rates. This development was reflected throughout Germany and was therefore not an exclusively regional phenomenon. This development is reinforced by the changed requirements and conditions for office workplaces. Desk sharing and working from home are reducing the need for traditional office workplaces.

In the current and difficult market situation, the Bonn office market nevertheless posted a solid result. Despite the aforementioned adversities, take-up only just fell short of the 100,000 square meter mark.

The largest single item of office space turnover last year was around 43,000 square meters and was taken up in the North submarket. This is an office building on the newly completed Dransdorf office campus, which was rented by the DLR project management agency. 

In 2021, the average rent per sqm of office space was €16.73. Compared with the previous year, the average rent has thus risen by €1.88 per sqm. The top rent realized for Bonn, on the other hand, rose by €1.50/sq. m. to €21.50/sq. m. compared with the previous year.

The highest rent in 2021 was achieved in "Beuel-Nord" at €49.18/sqm. However, this represents an "outlier" on the upside. The highest rents in Bonn are achieved on average for office properties in the A locations of the Bundesviertel.

The rental price ranges shown in the table reflect the rental prices observed in the various office submarkets in recent years. Lease renewals were not recorded, and the age, quality and structural condition of the properties were not taken into account. In the case of some office properties, higher top rents can be achieved in isolated cases in particularly exposed locations and with extra high-quality fittings. 

Compared to the previous year, the vacancy rate increased from 110,142 square meters in the office property sector to 144,144 square meters.

Taking into account the change in the total office stock, the proportion of vacant office space amounted to 3.51% as at December 31, 2023. However, the vacancy rate can still be classified as low.

The range of lettable existing space is supplemented by projects in the planning, development and construction stages.

The largest completion in 2023 was part of the Dransdorf office campus with 10,400 square meters, followed by the second construction phase of the “GreenGate” in Kurt-Schumacher-Strasse with 10,000 square meters. The “V2 Offices” in Pützchens Chaussee is in third place with a completion volume of 6,600 square meters. The other construction projects ranged in size from 6,000 square meters to 750 square meters and were spread across the Bonn city area.

The “West.Side” project in Siemensstrasse is expected to be completed in 2024 with building plots 1 and 2 and an area of 17,700 square meters. These and other expected completions with a total size of 31,723 square meters will expand and diversify Bonn's office market.

The real estate service cooperates with the Bonn real estate industry and therefore has a comprehensive overview of the market. The market movements are accurately recorded in a dedicated real estate database and serve as a basis for mediating between those offering office space and those looking for it. Those interested in office space value the independent work of the real estate service and are happy to make use of it. Their inquiries are answered in a needs-based and tailor-made manner. 

Together with the Gesellschaft für Immobilienwirtschaftliche Forschung (gif), the Economic Development Agency invites the players in the local real estate industry to a joint event to analyze the market situation, as mentioned at the beginning, and to certify it according to the gif guidelines. The aim of gif is to provide potential German and international investors with a transparent overview of selected real estate locations on the basis of uniform, scientific criteria.

The gif-certified figures and detailed information on the Bonn real estate market, in particular on the office space submarkets and the sector structure, can be found in the annual brochure “Office Space Market Report Bonn”.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)