India was a late entrant into the REIT sector; however, since REITs launched in 2019, their market capitalization has surpassed that of some major economies with matured REIT markets. Despite their growth potential, just 23% of the total REIT-worthy office stock - approx. 520 Mn sq. ft. - across the top 7 cities is currently listed in REIT portfolios.
With approx. 313 Mn sq. ft., the southern cities of Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai currently host the maximum available REIT-worthy office stock. However, just 18% of this stock is listed in REIT portfolios:
Bengaluru has the highest REITable office stock of approx. 162 mn sq. ft., of which just 24% or approx. 39 mn sq. ft. is currently listed under REIT portfolios; in Hyderabad, just 16% of a total 102 Mn sq. ft. of REIT-worthy office stock is actually listed; in Chennai, just 4% of 49 Mn sq. ft. REIT-complaint office stock is REIT-listed.
In North India, Delhi-NCR currently has a total of REIT-worthy stock of 82 Mn sq. ft., of which just 30% is listed
The top Western markets MMR and Pune have a combined REITable office stock of 118 Mn sq. ft., of which just 27% is REIT-listed. MMR has REIT-worthy office stock of approx. 80 Mn sq. ft., of which approx. 23.4 Mn sq. ft. (29%) is listed; of 38 Mn of overall REITable stock in Pune, just 24% or approx. 9 Mn sq. ft. is REIT-listed.
Kolkata currently has REIT-suitable stock of approx. 7 Mn sq. ft., of which 43% is already listed.
ANAROCK data shows that approx. 106.4 Mn sq. ft. of Grade A office space has been added across the top 7 cities from 2023 till Q1 2025. Meanwhile, out of the total available Grade A office stock across the top 7 cities (approx. 850 mn sq. ft.), at least 400 Mn sq. ft. (or 47%) is older than 10 years and can be upgraded to REIT standards. This will not only increase REIT-worthy stock across cities but also help increase office rental premiums by 10-30%.
