- India remains among the world’s fastest-growing major economies and continues to demonstrate strong macroeconomic resilience. Real GDP growth stood at 7.8% during the October–December 2025 quarter, supported by strong performance across manufacturing, real estate, financial services, and trade sectors. The RBI maintained the Repo rate at 5.25%, while inflation remained within the targeted range of 2–6%. India also recorded one of the strongest global hiring outlooks, with Net Employment Outlook (NEO) reaching a record 68% for Q2 2026, reinforcing robust employment generation and sustained office space demand.
- India’s office real estate sector recorded its strongest ever Q1 performance in 2026, with gross leasing of approximately ~18 mn sq. ft. across the top seven cities, while new supply stood at nearly 10 mn sq. ft. GCCs remained the dominant occupier segment, accounting for nearly 40% of total leasing activity during the quarter. Constrained Grade-A supply and strong occupier demand continued to compress vacancies and drive rental growth across major office markets including Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.
- Bengaluru continues to retain its position as India’s largest office market with approximately ~226 mn sq. ft. of Grade-A office stock, accounting for nearly 26% of the country’s total office inventory, and cumulative absorption of nearly 201.2 mn sq. ft. The city recorded gross leasing of approximately 7.48 mn sq. ft. in Q1 2026, contributing nearly 29% of India’s total office demand, while new supply additions stood at 2.5 mn sq. ft. GCCs accounted for nearly 45% of office absorption, followed by IT-BPM and flex-space operators
- Bengaluru’s office market momentum in 2026 is expected to expand beyond ORR toward North Bengaluru and PBD East, driven by GCC-led pre-leasing of large, ESG-compliant Grade-A campuses along upcoming metro and airport-linked corridors. With ORR continuing to operate at tight vacancy levels, Bengaluru recorded the highest prime office rental growth among major Indian cities in Q1 2026, with prime rents rising ~14% YoY and citywide average rentals crossing ₹100/sq. ft./month, underscoring sustained occupier demand and strong pricing power across key commercial corridors.
