German commercial real estate markets were quite busy in the final quarter of 2018, according to Catella.

The firm reported that Germany's top 7 office markets achieved very robust results in 2018 with a total office take-up of 3.83m sqm. Turnover was around 8 % below the record levels seen in 2017, but well above the 10-year average.

Over the past 12 months, the vacancy rate for German office space in all top 7 markets has fallen by 0.8pp, from 4.7% to 3.9% at the end of the year on average.

Catella reported: “Due to the still very strong demand for office space and a further decline in office space, top office rents have risen further in all markets. The average rent in the top 7 markets is approx. €31sqm, an increase of approx. 6% compared to the previous year.”

Transaction volumes were also strong in Germany. “The commercial investment market has had a spectacular year. Yields are at historical lows and there were a record number of large transactions. A total volume of €60.6bn was achieved and the result of the previous year was again exceeded by 6%”, Catella added.