• Market activity picked up considerably towards the end of the year
• Brockhoff brokered a total of 21,260 m² and remained the market’s most active agent

(Essen, 28.01.2025). Office take-up in Essen reached a total of 96,900 m² in 2024. Of the 82,000 m² of leases brokered by agents, Brockhoff advised on 21,260 m² (26%), remaining the most active agent in Essen’s office market. Owner-occupiers accounted for around 14,860 m².

Of the 108 transactions recorded in 2024, two involved spaces exceeding 10,000 m². The year’s largest deal was the lease to EVONIK in the RWE Tower at Opernplatz 1. A further 13 transactions exceeded 1,000 m². Together with the EVONIK lease, they accounted for more than half of office take-up, or 46,600 m². By number, the market was dominated last year by around 71 leases of less than 500 m², which together accounted for 18,210 m² of take-up.

It comes as little surprise to Brockhoff Managing Director Tobias Altenbeck that total take-up fell short of the previous year’s result: “Demand for space was noticeably lower, particularly in the first half of the year, due to global uncertainty. We observed a market recovery in the third and fourth quarters, which sends a positive signal for 2025.”

With little new construction activity, high-quality refurbished office buildings in prime locations such as Essen-Rüttenscheid remain particularly sought-after. In these top locations, the vacancy reserve of modern space continued to shrink despite the rise in overall vacancy in Essen. Companies needing larger spaces of more than 3,000 m² or even 5,000 m² have few options, mainly around Essen’s central station.

In 2024, the prime rent achieved in Essen remained below €20/m², the threshold at which new-build projects become economically attractive to investors. Given the existing vacancy, Altenbeck recommends focusing more on modernisation. Much of the vacant space is in a condition that makes reletting difficult. Sustainable refurbishment, however, offers considerable potential: “We specialise in helping owners and investors reposition their properties and then handling the marketing. This approach has already delivered significant results in Essen: several existing properties, some of which had stood vacant for a long time, were quickly let in full,” says Altenbeck.

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About Brockhoff

Brockhoff GmbH is one of Germany’s leading commercial real estate brokers and the market leader in the Ruhr region. The owner-managed company, based in Essen, was founded by Eckhard Brockhoff in 1987 and has extensive expertise in marketing properties across the OFFICE, INVEST, RETAIL and LOGISTICS sectors, built on over 35 years of experience in real estate. Its portfolio includes the nationwide sale of office and investment properties, office leasing with a focus on the Ruhr region, the brokerage of retail properties in prime 1A locations in small, medium-sized and large German cities, and the leasing and sale of logistics properties. In 2021, ADOMO Beteiligungs GmbH acquired a 41% stake in the company. The remaining 59% is still held by founder and Managing Partner Eckhard Brockhoff.