The Munich office letting market recorded office take-up of approximately 138,000 sq m in the third quarter of 2026. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year (Q3 2025: 140,800 sq m), take-up remained broadly stable. For the first nine months of 2026, total take-up reached approximately 467,200 sq m, representing an increase of around 16% compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.
“The Munich office letting market continued to demonstrate strong activity during the third quarter. Companies are assessing their space requirements far more closely than they did a few years ago and are making location decisions accordingly and with greater selectivity. This is resulting in broad-based demand across a wide range of unit sizes. While several larger transactions were completed during the quarter, market activity was increasingly driven by numerous small and medium-sized lettings. Particularly encouraging is the fact that office take-up over the first nine months of the year was significantly above last year’s level,” said Matthias Hofmann, Head of Regional Branch Management Germany and Head of Office Agency Munich at Cushman & Wakefield.
High market activity driven by smaller deal sizes
Office take-up reached 138,000 sq m in Q3 2026, remaining almost unchanged compared with the same quarter last year. Relative to the exceptionally strong second quarter of 2026, when take-up totalled 190,000 sq m, this represents a decline of around 27%. Compared with the long-term average, quarterly take-up was approximately 8% below the ten-year average.
Nevertheless, with 190 transactions completed, market activity exceeded that seen in the previous quarter and underlined the continued breadth of demand in Munich’s office leasing market. The lower take-up volume compared with Q2 primarily reflects smaller average transaction sizes. Whereas the second quarter was characterised by several large-scale occupier decisions, activity in the third quarter was distributed more broadly across the small and mid-sized office segments.
The vast majority of take-up continued to come from lettings, accounting for more than 90% of total volume, or approximately 127,000 sq m. Owner-occupier transactions contributed around 11,000 sq m, broadly in line with the third quarter of the previous year.
The largest transaction of the third quarter was Rohde & Schwarz’s expansion in Mühldorfstraße, comprising approximately 8,500 sq m. As an owner-occupier transaction, it forms part of the company’s planned site development strategy. Other major deals included the lease of approximately 6,000 sq m by commercial law firm Heuking at Maffeistraße 8, brokered by Cushman & Wakefield, and Greenpeak Partners’ lease of approximately 5,100 sq m at Amalienstraße 33.
For the first nine months of the year, total take-up reached 467,200 sq m, placing the market 16% above the same period last year and 5% above the five-year average. However, it remains 10% below the ten-year average, highlighting the continued resilience of occupier demand in Munich.
Industrial sector leads demand
By sector, industry, transport and logistics was the most active occupier group, accounting for 24% of total take-up. This was followed by the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector and business consultancy firms, each representing 17% of market activity. Companies from the financial and insurance sector were also particularly active, contributing approximately 11% of total take-up.
This distribution highlights the broad-based nature of demand in the third quarter. While individual sectors had a stronger influence on market activity in previous quarters, recent take-up has been spread more evenly across multiple occupier groups.
Broader geographical distribution of demand
At submarket level, demand in the third quarter was spread more evenly than in the previous quarter. Eastern City Centre recorded the highest take-up, with approximately 22,500 sq m, representing 16% of total market volume. A key contributor was the expansion by Rohde & Schwarz in Mühldorfstraße.
Closely following was the Western City Centre, where take-up reached 21,800 sq m, also accounting for 16% of total volume. One of the larger deals in this submarket was the lease of approximately 3,400 sq m by HMU Health and Medical University at Hopfenpost Palais.
Other strong-performing submarkets included the Northern Fringe, which accounted for 10% of total take-up, as well as the Northern City Centre, Old Town, and the Western-Southwestern Urban Area, each contributing around 8%. In the Northern Fringe, notable transactions included approximately 2,600 sq m leased by PlanetHome Group GmbH and approximately 2,100 sq m leased by Sonnenklar.TV, both within Park Village.
“Demand continues to focus on established and well-connected office locations. At the same time, the distribution of take-up across a number of submarkets demonstrates that companies are making location decisions in an increasingly differentiated and needs-based manner,” added Hofmann.
Rental growth continues
Prime rent continued its upward trajectory during the third quarter of 2026, reaching €58.00 per sq m/month. Compared with the same quarter last year (€55.00 per sq m/month), this represents an increase of approximately 5.5%.
Average rent also showed positive growth, standing at €28.05 per sq m/month at the end of Q3. Compared with the previous year (€26.00 per sq m/month), this equates to an increase of approximately 7.9%.
Rental growth continues to be driven primarily by demand for modern, high-quality office accommodation in central and well-connected locations. At the same time, demand in the third quarter was distributed across a broader range of quality segments, reflecting the increasing differentiation of Munich’s office leasing market.
“The development of rental levels demonstrates that quality continues to command a premium in Munich. Modern office space in central locations continues to achieve strong rental values. Occupiers are placing greater emphasis than in previous years on balancing location, quality and economic efficiency,” explained Hofmann.
Vacancy remains elevated while development activity stays strong
At the end of the third quarter of 2026, Munich’s office vacancy stock stood at approximately 2.03 million sq m, resulting in a vacancy rate of 9.3%. This represents an increase of 10 basis points compared with the previous quarter and 1.2 percentage points year-on-year.
“We continue to see a clear quality divide within the market. Modern, ESG-compliant office space generally enjoys favourable leasing prospects, while older existing stock requiring refurbishment is experiencing longer marketing periods. This trend is having an increasing impact on the vacancy structure of the Munich office market,” said Hofmann.
Construction pipeline remains substantial
Office completions during the first nine months of 2026 totalled 202,900 sq m, representing an increase of 25% year-on-year. This figure is 6% below the five-year average but 2% above the ten-year average. During the third quarter alone, approximately 30,800 sq m of office space was completed.
One of the most significant completions was the “AMALIE” development in the Northern City Centre, delivering approximately 10,500 sq m of office accommodation.
Currently, around 883,500 sq m of office space is under construction, with a pre-letting rate of 41%. Major projects scheduled for completion by year-end include the Google Campus on Arnulfstraße, providing approximately 33,500 sq m of office space, and “Go Four It – Red & Purple” on Hanauerstraße, with approximately 21,000 sq m.
“With office take-up after nine months significantly above last year’s level and transaction activity remaining consistently strong, Munich’s office market is in good overall health. At the same time, we are seeing growing differentiation in occupier demand with regard to location, quality and workplace concept. Modern and market-ready office space continues to enjoy very favourable leasing prospects,” concluded Hofmann.
