Despite their importance for users, investors and urban development, there is no appropriate monitoring of rent prices for retail properties in Germany. Comparing average rents alone is of limited benefit as the composition of location and quality properties of observed retail objects could differ significantly.

A Hedonic Rental Price Index for Retail Properties in Germany: Methodology and First Results
German Economic Institute (IW)
Despite their importance for users, investors and urban development, there is no appropriate monitoring of rent prices for retail properties in Germany. Comparing average rents alone is of limited benefit as the composition of location and quality properties of observed retail objects could differ significantly.
Therefore, a hedonic rental price index for retail properties in Germany is estimated using a database of rental offers for retail properties. This hedonic price analysis explains the asking rents with a combination of characteristics such as location, size, quality, and timing of the offer. This quality adjusted (hedonic) rental price development is estimated for Germany as a whole, for different regional categories and 30 selected major cities. This analysis shows that rents for retail properties were rising dynamically prior to the outbreak of the Covid19 pandemic, especially in the seven largest cities. After a substantial decline in the total number of offers for retail rent, which is weaker in the seven largest cities and an increase in the period they were offered on the market, there are currently signs of a turning point for rental price development for retail properties. After continuing to rise in 2020, in 2021 quality-adjusted retail rents in Germany have stagnated and in the top seven locations even declined, which however we need to put this into perspective of substantial rent increases for retail properties in previous years in the top seven locations.


A Hedonic Rental Price Index for Retail Properties in Germany: Methodology and First Results
German Economic Institute (IW)
More on the topic

An Analysis of the Current Risk Levels in Residential Real Estate Financing in Germany
The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) is keeping a watchful eye on the granting of housing mortgages and from 2023 on will require lending banks to increase their equity capital to cover potential risks.
IW
A Perfect Storm for European Office Markets? – Potential Price Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic is not only endangering the health of people worldwide, but also causes an economic recession. Given past experiences, office markets, specifically the prime market, reacts very strongly to economic downswings. This paper attempts to ...
IW