(Essen, 15.10.2019). At the end of the 3rd quarter, office leasing is only just short of the annual record set in 2007. If a further 18,000 m² of office space is leased in Q4 2019, the current record of 158,000 m² will be broken. Essen brokerage Brockhoff & Partner says the chances are very good and expects further high-volume deals in the 4th quarter. The country’s largest local commercial property broker already has requirements for well over 18,000 m² of space in Essen.

Office leasing is rapidly approaching a historic high. At the end of Q3 2019, the city’s economic development agency reported a record 140,000 m² of take-up, including 119,600 m² of third-party lettings. This gives Essen a rare opportunity to exceed the previous high of 158,000 m², set in 2007. The vacancy rate has fallen from 3.9% to 3.5%.

Modern space is scarce in central locations, so market activity is mostly taking place in outlying districts. Many renovated existing buildings have been leased this year. “Despite all the complaints about limited availability, we have brokered large leases of several thousand square metres and found suitable properties for our clients,” says Tobias Altenbeck, Head of OFFICE at Brockhoff & Partner.

A listed Essen corporation has leased approximately 6,224 m² of existing office space at Helenenstr. 149. Brockhoff OFFICE advised on the lease.

Brockhoff OFFICE also brokered approximately 2,510 m² of office space to a public-sector administrative unit. The decisive factors at Frohnhauser Str. 71 were the availability of contiguous space and a central location in Essen’s Weststadt, close to the city centre.

With advice from Brockhoff OFFICE, another tenant is moving into one of Essen’s flagship properties. International IT provider FPT Deutschland GmbH will lease a floor of approximately 600 m² in the front building of the modernized RUHR Tower, formerly Rheinstahl-Haus, from 1 January 2020.

At listed property Lindenallee 29-41, coworking provider Work Inn has leased approximately 754 m² through Brockhoff OFFICE. A further 2,258 m² in the building has been let to Harfid.

A listed corporation has leased approximately 5,400 m² at Kruppstraße 74 through Brockhoff OFFICE. Siemens signed for approximately 12,000 m² at Kruppstr. 16.

Brockhoff OFFICE arranged an expansion of approximately 1,064 m² at Baumstraße 25 for a listed corporation that had leased approximately 3,000 m² there through the Essen brokerage the previous year.

At Huyssen Quartier, Essen’s most prestigious new-build project, Brockhoff leased approximately 4,200 m² of office space to PwC Deutschland.

Hochtief leased approximately 15,800 m² at Alfredstr. 236, RWE AG approximately 15,000 m² at Altenessener Straße and Karstadt approximately 8,000 m² at Theodor-Althoff-Str. 1.

The new Allbau AG building at Holsterhauser Platz, opposite the hospital, was also successfully marketed. Brockhoff OFFICE leased approximately 2,570 m² there to AWO Essen.

Brenntag AG leased approximately 2,200 m² at Hohenzollernstr. 24-26.

Numerous other leases in the first 9 months of the year contributed to the record result.

Brockhoff & Partner says more new construction is essential because demand cannot be met by existing stock alone. “There is significant potential in existing buildings, which is why we always advise investors and owners to keep renovating their properties,” explains Tobias Altenbeck, Head of OFFICE. “But without new construction, it will not be possible to meet growing office-space demand in the Ruhr region. If the Ruhr metropolis is to continue developing as an IT and services location, more must be built.” Rents in the Ruhr region need to rise noticeably to attract investors to speculative projects. Brockhoff & Partner says rents of €15/m² would make new developments attractive.