German retail property market affected by focus on grocery-anchored properties in 2021

The German retail property market recorded an investment volume of around €9.5 billion ($10.8 billion) in 2021. Compared with 2020, this marks a decline of 22 percent, caused mainly by the lack of large-scale acquisitions of equity stakes and corporate takeovers that determined 2020. Furthermore, the proportion of portfolios also declined (down 25 percentage points to 40 percent), as did the market share of international buyers (down 26 percentage points to 32 percent). These are the results of a current analysis prepared by CBRE.

“Whereas, in 2021, the interest of many domestic and international investors in retail warehouses, DIY centers and above all food markets significantly exceeded the supply of properties on offer, the acquisition of shares or corporate takeovers so frequently associated with large-scale transaction volumes in years gone by played more of a secondary role in the past year,” said Jan Dirk Poppinga, co-head of retail investment at CBRE Germany. Th