At the end of the year, there was actually a photo finish between the record years of 2019 and 2021.
Thanks to a phenomenal final spurt with several deals in the triple-digit million range, the transaction volume (TAV) for the full year 2021 broke through the €3 billion barrier and set a new record of €3.25 billion at the last moment. Over 60% of the total annual result was achieved in the fourth quarter of the year (Q4 2021: €2.02 billion).
Investment/asset managers were able to fill their shopping carts well in Cologne in 2021. With a share of approximately 47%, this buyer group accounted for almost half of the total transaction volume. On the seller side, there was a four-way battle for the top spot. Project developers/builders (24%) came out slightly ahead. They were closely followed by private investors/family offices/owner-occupiers (22%), banks (1%) and investment/asset managers (approx. 19%).
Looking at the year as a whole, office properties have always accounted for the largest share of market activity in Cologne. In 2021, more than half of the transaction volume was invested in the office asset class (54.6%). While office buildings lagged behind in terms of percentage in the first half of 2021, investment in office properties picked up in the second half of the year. At the end of the first half of 2021, mixed-use properties still ranked first. In the second half of the year, there were fewer transactions in the mixed-use sector. Nevertheless, the asset class ranks second with a share of over 18.4%. The largest transaction in this asset class is the project development by the Gerchgroup, the Laurenz Carrè in Cologne's Altstadt-Nord district.
With a total investment volume of €1,079 million (approx. 33.2%), Altstadt-Nord once again towers above all other districts. This represents almost a third of total turnover. Deutz is the only district on the right bank of the Rhine to make it into the top 5, with a share of 19.3%. Ehrenfeld/Braunsfeld follows closely behind, also still in double digits with a combined share of 18.1%. The Altstadt-Süd district ranks third with 8.0%, followed by Marsdorf in fifth place with 5.1% of the transaction volume.
>> Cologne office market – full year 2021
>> Bonn office market – full year 2021
