Sell office in Hanover.

Hannover's office leasing market entered 2026 in an early-recovery but still cautious phase. After a strong 2024, full-year take-up fell roughly 25 percent to around 104,200 sqm across 195 lettings, with deal count down about 18 percent. The pullback reflects national caution rather than a Hannover-specific weakness: the Big 7 saw take-up down about 17 percent year-on-year, so the regional B-city is broadly tracking the wider German trend. Demand remains anchored by an unusually deep base of headquarters occupiers for a city of its size, including the insurance majors Talanx and Hannover Rück, industrial group Continental, tourism group TUI in nearby Langenhagen, and VW Nutzfahrzeuge in the region. The defining feature of the leasing market is a pronounced flight-to-quality. Prime rents climbed sharply over twelve months from 21.50 to 24.50 EUR per sqm and could reach 25.00 EUR by year-end 2026, while peripheral prime stock holds around 18.00 EUR. At the same time the vacancy rate rose from 5.4 to 6.3 percent, but that vacancy is concentrated in dated, energy-inefficient buildings that increasingly fail ESG and GEG screens. Modern, refurbished central floors remain tightly held, producing a widening two-tier market in which Grade-A pricing strengthens even as overall absorption softens. Submarket activity in 2025 was led by Hannover Nord-West with roughly 30,200 sqm of take-up, reflecting demand for larger, well-connected business-park floorplates. List-Podbielskistrasse followed at about 18,100 sqm, and the central City/Mitte core recorded around 16,800 sqm. The Nordstadt banking quarter (NordLB, Deutsche Bank), the Airport/Langenhagen cluster around TUI, and the Messe/Laatzen exhibition area round out a diverse but cyclically uneven set of locations. For the coming twelve months the leasing outlook is one of selective strength. Landlords of refurbished central assets can expect continued rental growth and reliable demand from the city's stable HQ tenant base, while owners of obsolete peripheral stock face mounting void risk and pressure to reposition or convert. The principal opportunities lie in ESG-led refurbishment of City/Mitte buildings and in affordable, transit-served space in List and Nord-West, whereas the principal risks are further vacancy drift and the deepening divide between prime and secondary product.

Average rent: 14.5 EUR/sqm/month (weighted average, indicative); edge rent: 18 EUR/sqm/month (city periphery prime); Prime rent: 24.5 EUR/sqm/month; Vacancy rate: 6.3 %.