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H1 2026: The Top 30 Investors. Residential real estate dominates, followed by retail.

Assetbird Editorial Team
newsSeptember 5, 2026·
5Min. reading time

In the first half of 2026, assetbird tracked a total of 441 publicly reported real estate transactions in Germany. The current ranking shows who was particularly active in the first half of the year and where transaction activity was concentrated.

The First Half of the Year in Four Figures

  • 441 recorded transactions
  • With 130 transactions, residential real estate is by far the strongest asset class (29%)
  • DEFAMA Deutsche Fachmarkt AG and the Saller Group lead the ranking with six transactions each
  • With 112 transactions, North Rhine-Westphalia is the most active state (25%)

The most significant development: Retail real estate buyers dominate the top of the rankings

Although residential real estate clearly leads in terms of volume with 130 transactions, it is retail real estate specialists who top the investor rankings. DEFAMA and Saller took first and second place, respectively, with six transactions each. Both are consistently active in the retail and specialty store segments. TSC Real Estate Germany followed in third place with five transactions, this time in the healthcare segment. This shows that in H1 2026, it was portfolio holders with a clear focus who were particularly active in buying, not opportunists.

The Top 30 Investors in H1 2026

#CompanyTypeAsset classesTX
1DEFAMA Deutsche Fachmarkt AGPortfolio HolderRetail6
2Saller GroupProject Developers, Property OwnersRetail6
3TSC Real Estate GermanyInvestment Manager, Asset Manager, FundHealthcare5
4German Investment Capital ManagementPortfolio HolderHousing, Retail4
5DPI Deutsche Projekt Invest GmbHFamily OfficeRetail, Office4
6VK Immobilien GmbHPortfolio HolderRetail4
7Aachen Real EstatePortfolio HolderHealth, Retail, Housing3
8BlueRock GroupInvestment Manager, Portfolio ManagerOffice, Home3
9Centerscape Deutschland GmbH & Co. KGProject Developers, Property OwnersRetail3
10Contipark Parkgaragengesellschaft mbHShareholder, Private InvestorParking3
11GJOLEKA GROUP Holding GmbHInvestment ManagerResidential3
12HIH Invest Real Estate GmbHFunds, Investment ManagersLogistics3
13IMAXXAM Asset Management GmbHAsset Manager, Property OwnerOffice3
14KINGSTONE Investment Management, LLCInvestment ManagerResidential3
15Medici Holding GmbHInvestment Manager, Portfolio ManagerResidential3
16Nuveen Asset Management EuropeInvestment ManagerIndustry, Logistics3
17REITs Family Office, LLCFamily OfficeResidential3
18VALUES. Real Estate Holding GmbHProject developerRetail3
19ABC Real Estate Holding GmbHProject developerRetail2
20ACTIV-IMMOBILIEN GmbH & Co. KGProject Developers, Property OwnersRetail2
21Aedifica Asset Management GmbHPortfolio Holders, FundsHealthcare2
22AIF Management, LLCFundsN/A2
23Art-Invest GmbH & Co. KGProject Developer, Asset ManagerOffice, Hotel2
24Benini Intermediation & Consulting, LLCProject developerResidential2
25BEOS AGProperty Owners, Project DevelopersOffice2
26Berenberg (Gossler & Co. KG)Asset Manager, Investment ManagerResidential2
27Centralis Real EstatePortfolio HolderOffice, Hotel2
28Cosimo Investment Group, LLCAsset Manager, Project DeveloperRetail2
29DIO Deutsche Immobilien Opportunitäten AGInvestment ManagerN/A2
30EQT Partners GmbHInvestment Manager, Portfolio Manager, FundLogistics2

Transactions by Asset Class

#Asset ClassTransactionsPercentage
1Residential130 transactions29%
2Retail73 transactions17%
3Office49 transactions11%
4Logistics42 transactions10%
5Industrial21 transactions5%
6Healthcare19 transactions4%
7Hotel11 transactions2%
—Others (3 classes)6 transactions1%

Transactions by State

#StateTransactionsPercentage
1North Rhine-Westphalia112 transactions25%
2Bavaria74 transactions17%
3Baden-Württemberg50 transactions11%
4Hesse42 transactions9%
5Berlin38 transactions8%
6Lower Saxony36 transactions8%
7Hamburg28 transactions6%
—Others (9 federal states)91 transactions21%

Outlook

The second half of the year will reveal whether the residential sector can further expand its dominant position or whether rising interest rates and falling expectations for purchase prices will slow the segment down. It will also be interesting to see whether retail real estate specialists remain in the rankings: DEFAMA and Saller have established themselves as particularly active buyers and are likely to remain active in the market in the second half of the year as well.

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Find more investors and transactions:

  • Find over 3,200 buyer profiles from investors, project developers, property owners, family offices, and more.
    On network.assetbird.de.
  • Filter and sort over 1,300 transactions by the most active buyers in each asset class and state.
    At network.assetbird.de/news.

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