German logistics & industrial investment up 16% in Q1 to €1.4b

The German industrial and logistics real estate investment market saw a strong start to 2026, with a transaction volume of €1.4 bn in Q1, representing a 16% increase compared to the previous year.

Transaction volume Germany logistics - CBRE

While logistics properties still dominated, their share dipped slightly to 70% (down 13 percentage points), as light industrial properties grew significantly by 12 percentage points to 18%. Production properties held steady at 11%. Notably, the Top 7 cities' contribution to the transaction volume sharply decreased by 10 percentage points to just 6%. Portfolio transactions, however, saw a modest rise, accounting for 21% (up nine percentage points). These insights are based on a current CBRE analysis.

Comparing Q1 2026 to Q1 2025, core properties increased their share by eight percentage points to 34%, and core-plus properties by two percentage points to 26%. Conversely, value-add investments dropped by 12 percentage points to 20%. Opportunistic investments, however, captured 16% of the market, a five percentage point increase. Owner-occupiers were largely absent from the market at the beginning of the year. The share of corporate sellers also decreased by seven percentage points to 15% compared to Q1 2025.

At 71%, the proportion of international investors remained at the high level of the first quarter of 2025 (up one percentage point).

Tom Franke, head of Logistics Investments at CBRE, commented: “The downturn in the transaction volume in the value-add segment is due above all to the lack of available property. International investors, in particular, continued to show keen interest in this segment. Recently, we have observed fewer sale-and-leaseback transactions. Potential sellers often have excessive price expectations that do not reflect the current market level. The sales pipeline is well filled. The willingness to embrace large-scale deals in excess of €100 mln has also risen, but the property has to be right. In 2026, more transactions can be expected in this size category than in the previous year.”

Kai F. Oulds, head of Industrial & Logistics at CBRE Germany, said: “From March onward, the dynamic start to the year was more restrained due to the geopolitical situation. The year-earlier performance was nevertheless significantly exceeded. Interest continues to run high, and there were numerous sources of capital, first and foremost from abroad – from players who are interested in establishing and building up their logistics presence in Germany.”

Kristine Kühn, senior director Valuation Advisory Services at CBRE, added: “Keener interest was fueled by positive impetus from the occupier market in terms of vacant property and attractive lease agreements.”