India office leasing rises 7% to 54.4Mn sq ft on GCC, flex demand
- Leasing in India’s top seven office markets hit 54.4 million sq ft in January-September.
- Q3 Grade A demand hit 18.7 million sq ft, a Q3 high in recent years.
- Bengaluru led with 15.7 million sq ft, a 29% share of leasing.
- Flex space operator leasing rose 37% year on year to 12.6 million sq ft.
NEW DELHI, INDIA — Office leasing across India’s top seven markets rose 7% year on year to 54.4 million sq ft in the first nine months of 2026, driven by occupier expansion, global capability centers (GCCs) and flex space operators.
Grade A demand reached 18.7 million sq ft in the third quarter, a record for a third quarter in recent years and up 7% from the second quarter.
Bengaluru and Hyderabad lead demand
Bengaluru led space uptake at 15.7 million sq ft, a 29% share of leasing, according to a Colliers India report carried by Realty Today.
Hyderabad followed with 9.4 million sq ft, up 47% year on year, while Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune and Chennai each recorded 6 million to 8 million sq ft.
Technology occupiers took close to 16 million sq ft of conventional space, followed by banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) and engineering and manufacturing firms.
Conventional space uptake held steady at 41.8 million sq ft, level with the same period in 2025.
“Leasing activity in the third quarter has been particularly noteworthy at 18.7 million sq ft, a record high for Q3 in recent years,” said Arpit Mehrotra, managing director of office services at Colliers India.
He said India could see 75 million to 80 million sq ft of transactions across its major office markets in 2026.
Flex space leasing jumps 37%
Leasing by flex space operators rose 37% year on year to 12.6 million sq ft, with Bengaluru and Delhi NCR at 2.8 million sq ft each.
“Flex spaces could potentially form 20-25% of occupiers’ real estate portfolios over the next few years, up from 15-20% currently,” said Vimal Nadar, national director and head of research at Colliers India.
New supply reached 41.7 million sq ft in the nine months, and vacancy stood at around 16% at the end of the quarter.
Average rentals across the top seven markets rose 7% year on year in the third quarter.
Record leasing in Bengaluru and Hyderabad signals that the cities where global capability center (GCC) and business process outsourcing (BPO) operations cluster are still adding space, not consolidating.
For buyers, rising rentals and 16% vacancy mean site costs in the main hubs are climbing even as new supply comes online.
Firms weighing captive centers against partners on the top BPO companies worldwide list can factor flex space into setup timelines.
Related news
- India’s Tier-2 GCC push hits infrastructure, AI talent gaps · 29 Sep
- Hyderabad GCCs move beyond IT into BFSI, pharma · 15 Sep
- Foreign banks push India GCC leasing to a record · 2 Sep
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