New Construction Volume in Logistics Real Estate Remains High

The German logistics real estate market remains at a very high level in 2021. This is the conclusion drawn by the nationwide consulting company Logivest after evaluating its own research data for the new construction volume of the first half of 2021. The company, which specializes in logistics real estate and locations, consistently measures the timing of construction starts.

(Munich) With a volume of around 2.5 million square meters, developments this year are even slightly above the half-year value of 2018, which set a new record with 2.4 million square meters of new construction volume in the first half of the year. “The logistics real estate market continues to show strong performance and is unaffected by external influences, so we are optimistic that we can maintain this level and at least match 2020 by the end of the year, if not exceed last year’s results,” says Kuno Neumeier, CEO of the Logivest Group. Based on the available data, he expects an annual volume of approximately 5.3 million square meters.

Duisburg/Niederrhein Again Most in Demand

Clearly the winner of the first half of the year is the logistics region of Duisburg/Niederrhein. After a weak last year, the region has returned to first place with a total development area of approximately 210,000 square meters in the first half of 2021. The largest development here is the project development by Panattoni in Voerde, which includes around 60,000 square meters of logistics space. An investment project with three warehouses and a hall area of around 90,000 square meters in Rieste/Neuenkirchen-Vörden brings the logistics region of Münster to second place in the ranking of the strongest new construction regions. A total of around 160,000 square meters have been developed here since January 2021. With approximately 135,000 square meters of new construction space, the logistics region in central Germany ranks third. Previously more in the midfield of Germany’s top logistics regions, the establishment of the retail company tegut over more than 92,000 square meters has now catapulted the logistics region into the top three.

C3-Bremen Largest Project Development of the First Half of the Year

In particular, the logistics region of Bremen is showing interesting developments this year. On one of the last prime pieces of land in GVZ Bremen, Baytree Logistics Properties is building an innovative logistics property for BLG Logistics as tenant and logistics service provider. With around 95,000 square meters of storage and production space, C3-Bremen represents the largest project development in Germany in the first half of 2021. Logivest acts as project and new construction advisor for the tenant in this project. Large-volume projects are already emerging in the region for the second half of the year. In the municipality of Großkneten, four halls with a total of up to 250,000 square meters will be realized on an area of approximately 450,000 square meters. A trend that was already evident last year and continues in 2021 is the developments outside the top logistics regions. Among the ten largest developments, three new construction projects outside the twenty-three top regions can already be found in the first half of the year. “The shortage of space in urban areas, or the lack of designation of logistics areas, is leading to an increasing migration to the periphery,” says Neumeier. “The logistics real estate market adapts to the circumstances – that is its strength, which pays off in these times.”

Photo/Graphics: © Logivest