Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: India’s office sector saw an unprecedented 89 million square feet (MSF) of gross leasing volume (GLV) across the top eight cities in 2024, according to a report on January 3.
This marks the highest-ever GLV recorded in the sector, surpassing 2023’s peak by a significant 14 MSF and a 19 per cent increase, said the report by Cushman & Wakefield, a global commercial real estate services firm.
Gross leasing volume, which factors in all leasing activity in the market, including fresh take-up, open market renewals by corporates as well as pre-leasing, is an indication of overall market activity.
In terms of cities, Bengaluru led the charge, accounting for 29 per cent of GLV (25.93 MSF), followed by Mumbai at 20 per cent (17.84 MSF) and Delhi-NCR at 15 per cent (13.14 MSF).
Hyderabad and Pune rounded off the top five cities with shares of 14 per cent (12.31 MSF) and 10 per cent (8.47 MSF), respectively, the report mentioned.
“The growing presence of global capability centres (GCC), contributing nearly 30 per cent of total demand, underscores India’s strategic importance for global multinationals,” said Anshul Jain, Chief Executive, India, Southeast Asia and APAC Tenant Representation, Cushman & Wakefield.
As we move into 2025, the demand for Grade-A spaces is expected to remain robust, further solidifying India’s dominance in the global office market, he added.
Net absorption, a barometer of real demand or expansion of occupied space in the market, was also at a record-breaking 50 MSF, surpassing the pre-Covid peak of 2019 by a significant 7 MSF.
Bengaluru again topped the list with 14.18 MSF of net absorption, capturing 28 per cent of the total net absorption, a historic high for the city, followed by Mumbai at 10.93 MSF, Hyderabad at 8.18 MSF and Delhi-NCR at 7.06 MSF, according to the report.
The fourth quarter of 2024 was a key contributor to the strong demand as GLV and net absorption for the quarter stood at 24 MSF and 16 MSF, respectively.
In terms of sectoral performance, IT-BPM sector was the largest contributor to demand with nearly 30 per cent share in Q4 2024, followed by engineering and manufacturing and BFSI sectors with 23 per cent and 16 per cent shares, respectively.
