India is emerging as a key investment destination within APAC, driven by strong fundamentals, a maturing real estate market, and growing interest in land & development assets. Favourable policy measures and continued infrastructure push are further enhancing the investment climate and reinforcing India's appeal to global and regional capital.
Institutional investments in Indian real estate stood at a strong USD 1.3 billion in Q1 2025—up 31% YoY—underscoring the sector’s resilience and investor confidence. Global and regional capital continues to flow steadily into India, particularly in land & development assets, supported by a maturing market and diverse capital deployment opportunities.
“Increasing global investor participation in the residential segment, along with a growing appetite for emerging segments such as life sciences and data centers, will further strengthen real estate investment in India. At the same time, strong demand fundamentals, robust supply pipeline, and expanding avenues such as development platforms and alternative investment structures will continue to present compelling opportunities in commercial as well as industrial & warehousing segments," said Badal Yagnik, Chief Executive Officer, Colliers India.
Foreign investors accounted for nearly 40% of the total institutional inflows during Q1 2025, reaffirming their long-term interest in Indian real estate. While office assets remain a key focus for foreign investors, residential investments are gaining ground, driven by rising demand, healthy returns, and a positive domestic outlook.
“This diversification signals a maturing market where foreign capital is increasingly aligning with India’s evolving real estate landscape. Looking ahead, consecutive repo rate cuts have brought the benchmark lending rate to 5.5%, the lowest in three years. This is likely to further boost investor sentiment and facilitate greater capital deployment across real estate asset classes, particularly residential segment in the near to medium term,” said Vimal Nadar, National Director & Head of Research, Colliers India.
Asia Pacific remains the most attractive region for land & development sites, with seven of the top 10 markets – most of which maintained or improved upon their five-year average share of activity in Q1 this year.
China and Singapore top the list, followed by Australia, Malaysia and India in fifth to seventh position. Hong Kong and Japan came in at ninth and tenth position. China maintains market dominance, at 80 per cent of all cross-border activity. At the same time, office segment continues to be the most sought-after in Asia Pacific, followed by industrial and retail, despite multifamily being the top sector of choice globally.
