By AI-Powered PMC Akbar Jiwani, Special Correspondent – Real Estate, RealNewsofIndia.com
India’s commercial real estate market is moving into a fresh growth phase, with the first half of 2026 delivering the strongest office leasing numbers the sector has ever recorded, according to data from global property consultancies CBRE and Colliers.
Gross office absorption across the country touched a record 45.5 million square feet in H1 2026, the highest ever for a half-year period, with 24.6 million square feet leased in the April-June quarter alone, CBRE data shows. Developers kept pace with demand, bringing a record 32 million square feet of new supply into the market over the same six months – a signal that both occupiers and builders are now operating at a scale not seen in previous cycles.
Global Capability Centres (GCCs) – the India-based technology, engineering and back-office arms of multinational corporations – continued to be the single biggest driver of office demand. GCCs accounted for 46 per cent of all Grade A office leasing nationally in H1 2026, taking up 16.6 million square feet, according to Colliers.
NCR EMERGES AS A KEY GROWTH CORRIDOR
The National Capital Region illustrated how demand is broadening beyond the traditional business districts. Delhi-NCR recorded 2.8 million square feet of gross office leasing in the first quarter of 2026, with Gurugram contributing 60 per cent of that activity and Noida accounting for 37 per cent. The Noida Expressway emerged as the region’s largest micro-market, while Udyog Vihar and the NH-8 Prime corridor also saw significant leasing activity. GCCs alone leased 0.9 million square feet in the NCR during the quarter.
Industry executives point to infrastructure investment as the common thread behind this expansion. “With investments in road connectivity, metro expansion and regional infrastructure, the focus is increasingly on strengthening Gurgaon’s integration with Delhi and the wider NCR,” said Harinder Singh Hora, Founder Chairman of Reach Group. “The opportunity today is not merely to develop standalone office buildings, but to create larger, better-planned business districts that can support the evolving needs of enterprises and the workforce.”
Emerging corridors along Noida, Greater Noida and the Yamuna Expressway are also drawing fresh investment, helped in part by the expansion of data centre infrastructure in the region. “Companies such as Microsoft, HCL and Tech Mahindra have already strengthened the region’s technology and corporate profile, while investments by leading data-centre players are adding a new dimension to its digital infrastructure,” said Abhishek Trehan, Executive Director of Trehan IRIS.
RETAIL AND INVESTMENT ACTIVITY ALSO PICK UP
Retail leasing rose 20 per cent year-on-year to reach 3.9 million square feet in H1 2026, led by Delhi-NCR among major markets, CBRE data shows. Fashion and apparel brands accounted for close to 40 per cent of leasing, while domestic brands made up more than 70 per cent of leasing activity nationally – underlining the continued rise of India’s home-grown retail sector. Direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, which now account for roughly 28 per cent of retail leasing, are increasingly opening physical stores as part of their growth strategy rather than treating them as a separate channel.
On the capital markets side, institutional real estate investment into India reached USD 4.5 billion in H1 2026, up 50 per cent year-on-year, with office assets drawing more than 40 per cent of total inflows, according to Colliers.
Taken together, real estate consultants say the data points to a market where demand is no longer concentrated in a handful of established business hubs but is spreading into newer corridors as connectivity, infrastructure and digital-economy investment converge. As Dr Amish Bhutani, Managing Director of Group 108, put it: “Demand will increasingly be driven by factors such as connectivity, accessibility, quality of infrastructure, surrounding development and the availability of well-planned commercial spaces.”
