India offers huge scope in office spaces managed by real estate investment trusts

In terms of appreciation, India's office REITs have shown strong one-year performance (as of June 16, 2025), driven by robust leasing activity and steady rental escalations.

India was a late entrant into the REIT sector. However, since REITs launched in 2019, their market capitalisation has surpassed that of some major economies with matured REIT markets., according to latest Anarock Research data.

The three listed Indian REITs -- Embassy Office Parks, Mindspace Business Parks and Brookfield India -- have a combined portfolio of just 117.2 million sq ft, which is just 23 per cent of the overall REIT-able Indian office space market, said Anuj Puri, Chairman, Anarock Group.

This indicates significant headroom for future REIT listings and office market consolidation across the top 7 cities, he mentioned.

With about 313 million sq. ft., Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai currently host the maximum available REIT-worthy office stock. However, just 18 per cent of this stock is listed in REIT portfolios,

In north India, Delhi-NCR currently has a total of REIT-worthy stock of 82 million sq ft, of which just 30 per cent is listed.

Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune have a combined REITable office stock of 118 million sq feet, of which just 27 per cent is REIT-listed.

Data trends indicate that in 2023, the total REIT-worthy office stock in the top 7 cities was nearly 383 million sq ft

"This has grown by 36 per cent since then to approx. 520 million sq. ft. currently, thanks largely to generous new office supply infusions since 2023 and also upgradation of old Grade A office stock to meet current demand and standards," said Puri.