Submarket for undeveloped sites

Current demand

In 2008, the total demand for commercial properties (1,331,050 m²) remained at a level comparable with that of the previous year (1,401,000 m²).

The general atmosphere of restraint observed throughout the economy was not reflected on the rental market until the first six months of 2009, when a drop in demand of some 335,150 m² was recorded. Many companies are currently postponing decisions regarding long-term investments in company premises or the implementation of relocation projects.

Industry sectors and unit sizes

During the high-demand period of 2008, the logistics sector dominated the market with 28 % (376,000 m²) of overall demand thus reiterating that, thanks to its excellent infrastructure and the proximity to the neighbouring Ruhr Basin, Düsseldorf remains an attractive location for the industry.

10% (145,250 m²) of demand could be attributed to the manufacturing industry. Major requests for property measuring between 15,000 and 50,000 m² came from laboratory equipment manufacturers, the steel construction industry and producers of building material.

Making up around 8 % of total demand, the fashion wholesale and fashion export sectors (105,000 m²) as well as the information and communications technology sector (100,500 m²) again underlined their importance for Düsseldorf. Space was also requested for building material wholesale and electronics wholesale as well as data processing facilities (between 20,000 m² and 70,000 m²).

In terms of area, a total of around 7 % (roughly 92,000 m²) of demand can be attributed to small trade and the automotive sector. As far as the number of requests is concerned, this group accounts for 22 % of all enquiries.

Most of these requests relate to spaces of between 500 m² and 4,000 m² (around 62 % of all requests). Most demands for areas of over 20,000 m² originated from the logistics sector and investors seeking sites for sport and leisure centres (15 % of all requests).

Availability

An area of around 260,000 m² is available throughout the entire city to meet short-term demand. To a certain extent, this also includes larger areas which could be useful to tenants with a wider footprint, such as logistics companies. Areas suitable for large-scale retail are now more or less completely leased to tenants.

As the demand for buildable sites is higher than the area available in Düsseldorf, only a proportion of requests can be implemented within the Düsseldorf area (see below).

Takeup development

In 2008, takeup in the undeveloped commercial property segment fell to a total of 122,700 m², around a quarter of the previous year’s figure. The number of purchases fell slightly from 20 to 16. Unlike 2007, no large-scale properties (between 80,000 m² and 160,000 m²) were sold; the focus was on a number of smaller sites. The takeup for the first six months of 2009 (83,000 m²) was comparable with the level of the previous year (89,500 m²).

Around 41 % (approx. 50,400 m²/3 sales) of all takeup in 2008 and roughly 72 % (approx. 59,500 m²/2 sales) in the first six months of 2009 occurred in the Theodorstraße business zone, situated in Düsseldorf’s Rath district. Boosted by its proximity to the airport and its excellent motorway connections, this area is continuing to develop into a major logistics, commercial and services location for Düsseldorf.

Sizes and prices of the areas sold

More than 40 % of sales transactions in 2008 and two thirds of sales in the first six months of 2009 have been for sites in the 500 to 5,000 m² range. Larger-scale takeup during 2008 was also seen with two purchases of around 36,000 m² and around 38,000 m² respectively. During the first six months of 2009, one major purchase of 48,000 m² was made. These were sites on Theodorstraße and in Düsseldorf’s Heerdt district, which have been set aside for building offices and warehousing as well as the extension of an existing industrial park.

The average price for purchases in the Theodorstraße area lay between 270 and 300 euro/m², and between 130 and 160 euro/m² in Heerdt.

Outlook and developments

The development of demand – particularly during 2008 – shows that there is a continued requirement for commercial sites in Düsseldorf, coming especially from small and medium-sized enterprises. The City of Düsseldorf caters to this demand by having land available for short-term takeup, for instance in the industrial parks on Tichauer Weg (approx. 30,000 m²) and Duderstädter Straße (approx. 5,000 m²).

Recent years also saw heightened activity by private investors, who began opening up brownfield sites to develop attractive commercial parks within Düsseldorf.

Commercial property experts Sirius Facilities have moved to answer the need for warehousing and office space by extending an existing commercial park on a 3.8 hectare former production site on Clarissenstraße in Düsseldorf’s Heerdt district. On Bonner Straße in Benrath, a commercial and logistics park is being constructed on the 16 hectare site of the former Stora Enso paper factory. In the short term, the property investment and development company SEGRO Deutschland plans to build around 40,000 m² of warehouse space and around 13,000 m² of office space spread between various building complexes. The municipal subsidiary Industrieterrains Düsseldorf-Reisholz AG is also planning to develop small-scale warehouse spaces for small tradesmen and services over the middle term.