According to analyses by Cushman & Wakefield, 50,300 m² of space was let on the Düsseldorf office rental market in the fourth quarter of 2025. For 2025 as a whole, space take-up amounted to 212,300 m², a decline of 5 per cent compared with the previous year.
Office space take-up in 2025 well below average – no year-end rally
The Düsseldorf office market, including Neuss and Ratingen, closed 2025 with a take-up of 212,300 m². This result is around 5 per cent below the previous year's figure. (222,900 m²) Compared to the 5-year average, this represents a decline of 21 per cent, and compared to the 10-year average, a decline of 37 per cent.
The year-end rally hoped for by market participants failed to materialise: at 50,300 m², the previous year's result was not reached in the last quarter (Q4 2024: 55,100 m²). The volume for the year as a whole thus also fell short of forecasts.
The three largest deals of the year came in the first half of the year: Helaba (7,800 m²), Galeria (6,800 m²) and the state capital Düsseldorf (4,600 m²), all of which were brokered by Cushman & Wakefield. The largest deal in the final quarter of 2025 was the lease signed by adesso AG in Airport City for around 3,100 m². There were no large leases exceeding 10,000 m² throughout the year – a key reason for the subdued sales performance. The reluctance of many companies to sign large leases reflects the ongoing economic uncertainty, which is causing companies to hesitate when it comes to making long-term decisions.
Rents continue to rise over the course of 2025
At the end of the year, the achievable prime rent remained stable at €46.00/m² compared to the previous quarter. However, it rose significantly by 5.7 per cent over the course of 2025 (Q4 2024: €43.50/m²), underscoring the dynamic rental price development in Düsseldorf in recent years. The average rent also showed an upward trend and, at €19.95/m² at the end of Q4 2025, was around 5 per cent above the previous year's level (Q4 2024: €19.00/m²). "Despite an overall wait-and-see attitude on the Düsseldorf rental market, demand for modern, flexible and ESG-compliant space and the limited supply in this segment are supporting prime rents. In view of the current large-scale demand on the market, a significant upturn in letting activity and an increase in average rents can be expected in the course of 2026," predicts Martin Höfler, Head of Office Agency Düsseldorf and Regional Manager West at Cushman & Wakefield.Vacancy rates continue to rise – completions and structural trends as drivers
Vacancy rates on the Düsseldorf office market continued to rise in the course of 2025, reaching 1.05 million square metres at the end of the year, corresponding to a vacancy rate of 11 per cent. This represents an increase of a further 20 basis points compared with the previous quarter (Q3 2025: 10.8 per cent) and 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous year (Q4 2024: 10.5 per cent). The gradual increase over the course of the year is primarily attributable to completions, whose average pre-letting rate was only 46 per cent.
Martin Höfler assesses the development of vacancy rates on the Düsseldorf office market as follows: "In addition to completions, structural trends such as New Work and the increasing implementation of flexible workplace concepts with desk sharing, which often goes hand in hand with a reduction in space, are additional drivers. This development means that larger, more simply equipped spaces in peripheral locations are particularly affected by vacancy and will continue to face challenges in the future."
Sublet space remains largely stable, accounting for around 10 per cent of the total vacancy volume.
Martin Höfler concludes on the Düsseldorf office rental market in 2026: ‘Due to the significant slowdown in project development and increasing momentum in the office rental market, vacancy rates are likely to stabilise. If demand picks up in line with current expectations over the course of the year, the vacancy rate could even decline slightly. The decisive factor here will be whether larger leases can be realised again.’
