India real estate shows split demand trends

NEW DELHI India’s real estate market is showing a two-speed trend, with office, flexible workspace and logistics segments recording strong demand while residential markets face rising unsold inventory, according to Equirus’ Real Estate Tracker - Sept 2026 report. Net office absorption across the top seven cities reached 27.4 million square feet in the first half of 2026, up 2 per cent year-on-year. Office completions fell 10 per cent to 22.2 million square feet, while vacancy declined to a multi-year low of 15 per cent. Global capability centres remained a major driver, with leasing rising 22 per cent to 19.2 million square feet, accounting for 45 per cent of gross office leasing. Flexible workspace operators leased 191,306 seats in H1 2026, an annual increase of 68.4 per cent, representing around 20 per cent of total office leasing. Logistics and industrial leasing across the top eight cities rose 18 per cent to a record 36.2 million square feet. Warehousing accounted for 24.3 million square feet, while third-party logistics players leased 12.2 million square feet. Residential markets, however, recorded inventory growth. Unsold housing inventory across eight major markets rose 4 per cent year-on-year to 525,695 units at H1 2026, while quarters-to-sell increased to 6.0 from 5.8 at the end of 2025. Ahmedabad had the highest inventory overhang at 8.1 quarters, followed by the National Capital Region at 7.6 quarters. Despite softer residential absorption, developers planned nearly Rs 1 lakh crore in luxury housing launches in Gurugram during H2 FY27. Listed REITs increased from four to six trusts and distributed Rs 3,136 crore in Q1 FY27. The contrasting trends show stronger commercial demand alongside rising residential inventory.