Hamburg is the second largest European seaport with more than 10,000 logistics companies and 330,000 employees in the logistics sector, as well as Europe's No. 1 for the rail transportation of containers. Hamburg Airport, which is close to the city center, is an important transshipment point for express freight for the maritime and aviation industries, among others.
In 2024, take-up of warehouse and logistics space in the Hamburg market area will total 260,000 m². Despite a slight slowdown in the pace of economic growth in Germany compared to the previous year, which has led to a lack of economic tailwind for the industrial and logistics sector for the second year in a row, take-up in the Greater Hamburg area is only slightly below the 2023 result with a decline of just 4 %.
Demand on the Hamburg market remains fundamentally strong, but companies are reluctant to rent new space, particularly in the larger space segment. In addition to the global economic situation, the significant rise in rents is also playing a role, which is why many companies prefer to use existing space and extend leases instead of acquiring new space.
In 2024 as a whole, only one large-scale contract for 24,300 m² was concluded with a retail company in Norderstedt. All other agreements were in the range of up to 10,000 m², which represents a significant decline in the larger space segment compared to the previous year. In contrast, demand for smaller spaces was brisk and a higher number of contracts were recorded for 2024 than in 2023.
Due to the continued limited availability of new-build space in the core area, the rent level rose by around 5% to a peak of € 8.50/m² at the beginning of 2024. The average rent has remained stable at € 6.40/m² since the first quarter.
