India's Real Estate Sees Record $5.1B Inflows, Led by Developers & REITs

This inflows, 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.

A significant portion of this capital was directed towards land acquisitions. Over 73 per cent of the funds dedicated to site acquisitions were deployed for mixed-use and residential projects, with the rest committed to office, warehousing, and hospitality developments.

"We are observing a sustained preference for high-quality office space, underpinned by significant inflows from domestic institutional capital, as well as foreign capital, most notably via REITs," said Gaurav Kumar, Managing Director and Co-Head, Capital Markets, India, CBRE.

Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi-NCR cumulatively accounted for around 65 per cent of the total investment share. Notably, capital from Singapore and Canada comprised 72 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively, of total foreign inflows.

- IANS