For a long time prior to the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, there was talk of how the German economy would cope with the experience of an external shock.

Now, this precise scenario has become reality — albeit in a totally unexpected manner — and its ramifications still cannot be estimated, even several months after the beginning of the lockdown. One thing, however, is already clear. The consequences of the coronavirus pandemic will occupy us for a much longer period of time than many market players would wish.

The best example for this long-term imponderability is to be found in what is traditionally the largest sub-segment within the German real estate market. Until just a few weeks ago, the general debate over the office market was characterised by a tremendous lack of space and a constant rise in purchase prices and rents. In contrast, today there is a lack of clarity as to how much office space companies will actually require and utilise in the medium- to long-t