Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Capital inflows into India’s real estate sector surged 72 per cent (year-on-year) to $5.1 billion in the January-March period (Q1 2026), compared to $2.9 billion recorded in Q1 2025, a new report showed on April 22. This inflow, the highest in any quarter ever, were primarily led by developers, closely followed by Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).
According to the latest report by real estate and infrastructure consultancy CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd., the January-March period also witnessed a significant 53 per cent quarter-on-quarter investment surge from $3.3 billion in Q4 2025, reflecting a sustained institutional investor confidence in the fundamentals of the country’s real estate sector.
Domestic investors, led primarily by developers, dominated the investment landscape with a 96 per cent share of the overall inflows. Developers constituted 42 per cent of the total capital inflows, closely followed by REITs at 40 per cent. Notably, investments by REITs surpassed $2.0 billion.
“This underscores the high confidence of domestic investors and institutional players in the Indian real estate growth story,” said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO – India, South-East Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE. Despite global macroeconomic headwinds, India’s resilient economic framework continues to attract deep capital.
The multi-fold increase in REIT activity is particularly encouraging, signalling a maturing market that is increasingly shifting towards institutionalised, yield-generating assets. Going forward, we anticipate foreign capital to re-engage strongly, driven by clearer deployment strategies,” said Magazine.
During Q1, the investment momentum was mainly led by substantial inflows into built-up office assets and continued activity in land / development site acquisitions, which together commanded more than 90 per cent of the overall equity investment flows.
