Commercial space take-up and demand for land

Commercial space turnover

Development of take-up and sales of commercial space

For the year 2024, the Hannover Region recorded a commercial space turnover of 19.4 ha (source: State Office for Geoinformation and Land Surveying, Regional Directorate Hannover/Cadastre Office). These are areas ready for construction, i.e. generally undeveloped plots that are designated as commercial development areas in the land use plan (F-Plan) in accordance with the German Land Use Ordinance (BauNVO) (Fig. 1).

Land take-up is therefore well below the long-term average (1992 to 2024) of 60.9 ha. In 2023, the total take-up was 34.6 ha, in 2022 it was 81.8 ha. The take-up volume in 2024 is more than 11 ha below the second weakest year (2003: 30.6 ha) in the time series.

In addition to the increasing shortage of available space, this development is also likely due to the persistently challenging economic and geopolitical market environment. The supply of space, which increased in the reporting year but has fallen by 209 ha in the last ten years, and the continuing shortage of construction capacity are also likely to have had an inhibiting effect.

The number of sales has also fallen (Fig. 1). The average size per land sale, which has risen noticeably in recent years, fell from 0.63 ha in the previous year to 0.59 ha in 2024 and thus roughly corresponds to the long-term average of 0.6 ha.

Table 1 shows the land take-up and the number of sales, broken down by municipality.

In terms of take-up for 2024 (see also Fig. 2), the state capital Hannover is in the lead with 7.1 ha. It is followed by Springe with 3.9 ha and Wunstorf with 1.9 ha. Fourth place is shared by the municipalities of Isernhagen and Uetze, each with a turnover of 1.4 ha. Compared to the respective long-term average since 1992, only Springe achieved above-average annual take-up in 2024.

The highest take-up over the entire period since 1992 is in the state capital Hannover (403.9 ha), Lehrte (204.1 ha), Langenhagen (199 ha) and Barsinghausen (138.8 ha). The state capital of Hanover has the most sales cases in 2024 with seven cases, followed by Isernhagen with five cases, Wunstorf with four cases and Neustadt with three cases.

In a long-term comparison since 1992, the state capital of Hannover accounted for the most sales with 564 cases, followed by Neustadt (233), Wunstorf (230) and Isernhagen (220).

Take-up of space by property size class

Fig. 3 shows the distribution of commercial space take-up by property size class for 2024 compared to the overall period since 1992. Accordingly, 72.7 % of take-up is accounted for by small and medium-sized spaces of up to 5,000 sqm - slightly below the long-term average (75 %). Larger spaces between 5,000 sqm and 10,000 sqm account for 15.2 % of take-up, which is above the long-term average of 12.3 %. Accordingly, the volume of large spaces (> 10,000 sqm) at 12.1 % is slightly below the long-term average (12.6 %).

Take-up of space and development of property prices

Average prices for space are highly dependent on the quality of transport links, the use and the size of the plot. Land in the state capital of Hannover in particular has a very differentiated price structure depending on its suitability for use (office, retail, industrial area, logistics).

The average price of land sold, broken down by regional sub-zones , rose by 27.5 % across all locations from 2023 to 2024.

Average prices per square meter in the state capital of Hannover rose again following last year's decline. Starting from a price level of € 194/sqm in 2023, there was a strong increase of 72.2 % compared to the regional subzones to the new record price level of
334 €/sqm (2024) was recorded. The 2024 price level is therefore 88 % above the ten-year average of € 178/sqm.

While prices in the immediate surrounding area rose slightly from € 137/sqm to € 200/sqm than in the state capital Hannover, prices in the regional municipalities in the outer ring fell from € 105/sqm to € 81/sqm.

Take-up of space by regional origin of companies and usage groups

When looking at origin-related information, 1,391 purchase cases can be used in the same period, 18 of which are for 2024. The evaluation of the purchase cases by origin of the companies for 2024 shows that the majority of sales were by far attributable to relocations within the municipality (Fig. 5). This accounted for 50 % of sales, which represents a reduction of around 9 percentage points compared to 2023.

The importance of expansion purchases on neighboring properties has fallen sharply compared to 2023 (from 29% to 17%) and almost corresponds to the long-term average in the year under review. Supra-regional relocations account for 22 % of cases, while 11 % of the cases under review involve relocations between municipalities in the surrounding area.

Property inquiries by use group and property size

Further information on the usage groups and the desired plot sizes can be derived from site inquiries recorded by the Hannover Region Business Service and the municipalities. A total of 162 cases are available for 2024, 154 of which can be evaluated for specific uses (2023: 159).

Logistics-related uses account for just under 17% of all inquiries (Fig. 6). In this group, demand varies depending on the specification and the size of the space, but space of 10,000 sqm or more is predominantly sought.

In second place with 10 % is the industrial/manufacturing group, which predominantly requests larger properties of 1 ha or more. With a share of 10 %, space is sought for leisure and health services . Demand is usually for small to medium-sized plots of between 2,000 sqm and 10,000 sqm.

This is followed by the categories of manufacturing , (vehicle) workshops , petrol stations (9 %), mostly with inquiries of up to 2,000 sqm, and the usage group of hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues (8 %), where demand focuses on between 1,000 sqm and 6,000 sqm.

With a share of 7%, the energy industry is increasingly requesting large spaces of 20,000 sqm and considerably larger. In seventh place are car dealerships, car dealerships and car rental companies with 6% of demand for space between 1,500 sqm and 10,000 sqm.