New Delhi, October 2
Leasing volumes in office real estate stood at 53.43 million sq ft in the first nine months of 2024, according to JLL, a leading global commercial real estate and investment management company.
As per JLL, this is the highest ever for this period and unmatched in the history of India's office market.
Leasing activity in real estate continues to show tremendous momentum with the July-September quarter numbers at 19.89 million square feet, the second highest ever quarterly gross leasing volumes.
The strong office real estate market fundamentals clearly have put India on track to witness a record-breaking year with projected gross leasing activity anticipated to hit 70 million sq ft in 2024, surpassing the previous high seen in 2023, it said.
"The office market continues to build on its gains as the strong momentum is underpinned by demand across industry segments from both global and domestic firms," JLL said in a statement.
The leading cities in terms of gross leasing activity are Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, and Mumbai with a combined share of 63.6 per cent.
On a nine-month comparison, the January-September 2024 period is the highest ever for all cities, barring Chennai and Hyderabad.
For Chennai, the January-September 2024 is just 6.1 per cent lower than its all-time high seen last year. For Hyderabad, the nine-month data is lower only to its 2019 performance.
"We're witnessing a transformative period where India's commercial real estate landscape is becoming increasingly broad-based and adaptable to evolving workplace dynamics," said Samantak Das, Chief Economist and Head of Research and REIS, India, JLL.
The office markets' growth momentum is expected to pivot around expansion by existing Global Capability Centres and new entrants marking their presence in the country.