Market report Stuttgart half year 2023

The rental and owner-occupied market for industrial and logistics properties in the Stuttgart metropolitan region set a new negative record in the first half of 2023. The take-up across all market participants amounted to 55,800 m². Compared with 153,000 m² in H1 2022 – the strongest ever half-year result since we started keeping records – this represents an unprecedented downturn in take-up of 97,200 m² or -63.5%.

No figure since H1 2019 was further removed from the 100,000 mark. Take-up also fell below the five-year average for the first half of the year of 102,360 m² by a substantial 45.5%.
 

As in the same period of the previous year, lettings in existing properties accounted for the majority of take-up at 48,800 m² or 87.5%. This means existing properties were responsible for almost nine in every ten square meters of take-up, with the trend in the relative share observed in the previous year continuing to intensify (H1 2022: 74.3% or 113,700 m²). In absolute terms, however, this represents a decline of 64,900 m² or -57.1%.

The share of new builds attributable to the deal concluded by a manufacturing company fell from an exceptional 39,300 m² or 25.7% in the same period of the previous year to 7,000 m² or 12.5% (-32,300 m² or -82.2%).

Stuttgart was exclusively a tenants’ market, with no owner-occupancy deals concluded in the first half of 2023.

The Esslingen district accounted for the highest share of take-up in the first half of the year at 16,200 m² or 29% (H1 2022: 45,200 m² or 29.5%, down 29,000 m² or 64.2% in absolute terms).

Second place was taken by the Stuttgart region at 13,000 m² or 23.3% compared with 5,000 m² and 3.3% in the previous year, making it the only region to see an increase in absolute terms (with take-up more than doubling by +8,000 m² or +160%). At +20 percentage points, it also saw the biggest increase in its relative share of total take-up. Unlike in the same period of the previous year, the city of Stuttgart saw one of the top take-ups thanks to the deal concluded by a logistics company for 5,824 m² (44.8%).

All in all, Esslingen and Böblingen districts accounted for 79.1% of the year-on-year change in take-up.

In the sector analysis, retail has been responsible for the most take-up since H1 2021 and this remained the case in the first half of the current year. Although the sector retained its leading position with take-up of 17,000 m² or 30.5%, this represented a reduction of 49,100 m² or -74.3% to around one-quarter of the prior-year figure (H1 2022: 66,100 m² or 43.2%).

Large spaces of 10,001 m² or more were the second-largest size category in H1 2023, accounting for 14,000 m² or 25.1% of total take-up. Compared with 71,200 m² or 46.5% in the same period of the previous year, this category saw the biggest downturn in absolute terms at -57,200 m² (-80.3%) and the most pronounced relative decrease of -21.4 percentage points. The deal concluded by Paul Lange & Co. OHG accounted for all of the take-up in this category.

Spaces of between 5,001 and 10,000 m² saw take-up of 12,824 m² or 23% (H1 2022: 26,400 m² or 17.3%, down -13,576 m² or -51.4% in absolute terms), which included the two top deals concluded by a manufacturing company and a logistics company.

Units between 3,001 and 5,000 m² contributed take-up of 4,300 m² or 7.7% (H1 2022: 33,500 m² or 21.9%, down -29,200 m² or -87.2% in absolute terms). Small to medium-sized spaces of between 1,000 and 3,000 m² came in at 15,576 m² or 27.9%, thereby accounting for the biggest share of take-up in the first half of 2023 (H1 2022: 19,800 m² or 12.9%, down -4,224 m² or -21.3% in absolute terms). The smallest spaces of less than 1,000 m² contributed 9,100 m² or 16.3% of total take-up (H1 2022: 2,100 m² or 1.4%). The smallest spaces of less than 1,000 m² were the only size category to see an increase in take-up. 

The lack of lettings in two categories – large spaces of 10,001 m² or more and medium-sized units of between 3,001 and 5,000 m² – accounted for most of the change in the weak half-year result.

Large spaces were responsible for 55% or -57,200 m² of the decrease in total take-up, while medium-sized to large spaces accounted for a further 28% or -29,200 m². Taken together, they make up 83% or 86,400 m² of the 97,200 m² reduction in the half-year result.