2 heinäkuu 2007, Germany, Düsseldorf

Catella office market report for Dusseldorf 1st half of 2007

Continuous upward trend in Düsseldorf: 44 % rise in letting performance compared to last year. Vacancy rate falls to 10.95 per cent. Top rent remains stable.

The strong upward trend in the Düsseldorf office market continues unbroken. Absorption has risen by about 44% compared to the same period last year. A total of 149,500 m² have been newly let. This result has been announced by Guido Nabben and Heiko Piekarski, letting managers of the real estate consultancy firm Catella in Düsseldorf, for the first half of 2007. In the first half of 2006, the absorption in Düsseldorf was about 104,000 m².

Catella has recorded a significant growth in letting performance especially in the environs of the North Rhine-Westphalian capital (such as Neuss, Meerbusch and Ratingen). During the first six months of 2007, 45,000 m² of office space were absorbed in these surrounding areas alone, which is an increase of more than 38 per cent compared to the same period last year, when 32,500 m² were absorbed.

Two major new lease contracts have contributed substantially to the growth figures in these surrounding areas: Creditreform, based in Neuss, one of the market leaders in customer base and risk management, with 5,800 m², and Medtronic, a leading supplier of medical technology; both companies were advised by Catella in renting new office space in the second quarter of 2007.

The increase in absorption throughout the municipal area of Düsseldorf has been accompanied by a fall in the vacancy rate. While 796,000 m² of office space were still vacant last year, this figure has now been reduced to 772,000 m². This means a decline in the vacancy rate from 11.3 per cent in 2006 to 10.95 per cent for the first half of 2007. This development is primarily due to companies already settled in Düsseldorf expanding and consequently needing more space.

The current top rent in Düsseldorf is about 22 EUR/m², and it has remained stable since last year. Changes in the average rent since 2006 are only marginal: it is currently 12.53 EUR/m². Last year, office tenants in the Greater Düsseldorf area were paying an average rent of 12.58 EUR/ m².