ITES and BFSI continue to be primary demand drivers of office space in India in 2012, says DTZ Occupier Perspective: India Office Demand and Trends Survey 2011. It says Delhi NCR and Bengaluru preferred by IT/ITES while Mumbai is BFSI’s favourite. Tier II cities of Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh and Jaipur preferred by IT/ITES; Ahmedabad by BFSI’s favourite; Gurgaon is the preferred micro market in Delhi NCR.
An analysis of the recent revival of commercial real estate market in Mumbai shows that the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector has been primarily responsible for the huge uptake of office space.
Absorption of office spaces increased to 13.40 Mn sq ft in Q1 2024 from 11.85 Mn sq ft in Q1 2023, showcasing a 13% increase Y-O-Y, says a Vestian report. However, the absorption declined by 31% this quarter after peaking in Q4 2023. Southern cities (Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad) accounted for 61% of the Pan-India absorption in Q1 2024 its share increased from 54% a year earlier.
The residential sector is currently undergoing a bullish phase, characterised by a convergence of factors that foster an extremely favourable ecosystem. As we progress into 2024, we anticipate that both sales and new property launches will sustain the sector’s buoyancy. Despite the potential challenges posed by escalating land costs and limited funding options for early-stage projects, the robust underlying market fundamentals are expected to propel residential activity well above the average trend witnessed in the previous five years.
Global Capability Centres (GCCs) accounted for a share of one-third in the overall India office leasing in Jan- Mar ’24. Within the GCCs space take-up, E&M companies contributed to over one-fourth share, followed by automobile firms. Bangalore led the chart for GCC leasing, boasting a 60% share, followed by Hyderabad with 26% and Delhi-NCR with 9%. Notably, 38% of the large-sized deals (exceeding 100,000 sq. ft.) were secured by GCCs during this period, underscoring their significant impact on the office leasing landscape.
Bengaluru and Hyderabad emerged as frontrunners for demand of Grade A office space in Q1 2024, cumulatively accounting for more than half of the India leasing activity. The office market of Hyderabad especially demonstrated a strong momentum with 2.2x space uptake in Q1 2024 as compared to the corresponding quarter last year. This demand was driven by Healthcare & Pharma and Technology sectors. Amongst other major office markets, Mumbai too experienced a notable surge in leasing activity, an impressive 90% YoY rise in Q1 2024.
India office holds upside potential to scale up to 60 msf in 2024. Domestic enterprises to account for over half of the office demand during 2024. GCCs to gain further ground accounting for over 40% of the total demand. BFSI and Engg & Mfg. to drive demand for Grade A office spaces. Flex spaces are likely to drive about 15-20% of the overall leasing in 2024. Large-sized deals of 100,000 sq ft or more, projected to account for 50-55% of 2024 leasing activity. About 30-35% of Grade A office demand is likely to come from PBDs in 2024.
India’s office market space leasing moved at a measured pace as most occupiers halted their expansion plans in the wake of the unanticipated second wave of the pandemic that hit the country earlier this year. Consequently, leasing activity across six major cities in India during the first half of 2021 dragged to a six-year low, according to the latest half-yearly report ‘India Market Watch Office’ by international real estate advisory firm Savills India.
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Indian real estate is still a viable and fairly safe long-term investment option. Investors with a short-term view on ‘instant returns’ need to look elsewhere, but most other asset classes are quite volatile in nature and will continue to remain so. Indian residential real estate is a long-time favourite of resident Indians and NRIs, and recent trends suggest a positive outlook for this asset class going forward. Property prices have bottomed out and cannot possibly reduce further, especially since construction costs are gradually heading north.