India’s office market is entering a defining phase, with domestic firms showing strong intent to expand their workspace portfolios over the next two years. According to CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd.’s newly released ‘2025 India Office Occupier Survey’, 85% of surveyed Indian companies plan to grow their office footprint—up from 73% in 2024. This surge reflects rising business confidence, a return-to-office mindset, and the evolving needs of a digitally driven workforce.
The expansion is backed by robust growth across key sectors and an accelerated pace of digitalisation. Compared to the pre-COVID period of 2018–19, domestic firms recorded a remarkable 86% increase in office leasing during 2023–2024, signalling a strong resurgence in physical workspace demand. Over the next two years, this momentum is expected to continue, supported by tighter hybrid arrangements and a clear preference for in-office work. The survey revealed that around 94% of companies now prefer employees to work from office at least three days a week. Furthermore, about 52% of the surveyed firms have adopted a fully in-office policy, compared to 36% in 2024.
Flexible workspaces are also becoming central to occupier strategies. Once considered a secondary option, flex spaces are now firmly embedded in India’s office leasing landscape, consistently capturing over 15% of annual absorption. The survey indicates that this trend will accelerate, with the number of companies allocating 26–50% of their portfolio to flexible spaces expected to more than double in the next two years. Notably, 58% of small occupiers plan to place over 10% of their office portfolio in flexible workspaces, while the share of large occupiers doing so is projected to rise to 52% by 2027, up from 33% today.
Global Capability Centres (GCCs) continue to be a major force in India’s office market, accounting for approximately 35–40% of total annual absorption in recent years. Their transformation from cost-efficient back-office units to high-value innovation hubs focused on R&D, AI, and core engineering is reshaping leasing dynamics. Around 65% of surveyed GCCs are expected to expand their portfolios over the next two years, with BFSI, life sciences, and engineering & manufacturing emerging as leading sectors. Leasing activity reflects this growth, with average GCC deal sizes increasing to ~108,000 sq. ft. in H1 2025 from ~91,000 sq. ft. in 2024.
Sustainability is also becoming a key priority. Nearly 75% of surveyed GCCs have already defined ESG goals for their real estate portfolios, reflecting the growing prominence of environmental responsibility in occupier strategies. This momentum is expected to strengthen further, driven by the government’s Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) framework, which encourages companies to formalise standards and allocate dedicated budgets for sustainability initiatives.
In addition to metro expansion, companies are increasingly exploring Tier-II and Tier-III cities as the next growth frontier. These cities offer access to skilled talent, competitive costs, and improving infrastructure—making them attractive destinations for decentralised office portfolios. The shift signals a broader reimagining of India’s workplace geography, where regional hubs complement urban centres in driving innovation and scale.
“India’s office market is entering a defining decade, marked by both resilience and reinvention. As occupiers demand future-ready, high-performance workspaces, the industry must respond with strategic upgrades, sustainability-driven retrofits, and digitally integrated ecosystems. The next wave of growth will not only reinforce India’s position as a global office hub but also unlock long-term value across the real estate lifecycle,” said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO - India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE.
Ram Chandnani, Managing Director – Leasing, CBRE India, added, “Global capability centres and Indian occupiers are shaping the next chapter of the country’s office sector. GCCs alone account for about 35–40% of absorption, driven by their rapid evolution into high-value innovation hubs across AI, engineering, and life sciences. At the same time, flexible workspaces are no longer a secondary option; they are becoming integral to occupier strategies, with adoption levels set to double in the coming years. Together, these forces will redefine workplace models, creating a more dynamic, innovative, and responsible office ecosystem for the future.”
