9M 2025 net absorption hits record high of 40 mn sq ft in India’s office market, a strong indicator of the country’s focal role in robust expansion-driven footprint growth and accretive job creation driven by its unmatched talent, innovation ecosystem and market potential
Net absorption in Q3 2025 at 15.8 mn sq ft was the highest in the year and the strongest-ever among Q1 to Q3 periods for previous years. This was driven by strong pre-commitments in new completions and new space take-up pointing to business and headcount expansion. Net absorption in Q3 was led by Delhi NCR and Bengaluru with near-similar shares of 24.6% each.
There is unmatched growth momentum exhibited by India’s office market as net absorption for Jan-Sep 2025 rose to its highest ever at ~40 mn sq ft. These unprecedented net absorption figures for the 9M period despite a prolonged period of global uncertainties demonstrates an unwavering conviction by global corporates that India offers genuine structural tailwinds to their business plans. India stands tall amid a period of market dislocations as occupiers pivot their post-uncertainty expansion keeping India central to their growth strategy.
The Jan-Sep 2025 net absorption figures were also the highest ever for Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Pune and Chennai across same periods in previous years, highlighting the strong headcount growth being undertaken in these talent-rich cities.
India’s gross leasing volumes continue to set new peaks, with the Jan-Sep 2025 numbers hitting 56.5 mn sq ft, up by 5.7% y-o-y. Despite a small blip in Q3 where transaction slippages saw the quarterly volumes decline by 14.7% q-o-q, the momentum remains unaffected with a record finish to the year still on the cards. Delhi NCR stole a march in gross leasing activity for Q3 2025 with a strong 27.2% share, followed by Bengaluru with 17.8% and Hyderabad with 17.3% shares, respectively.
GCCs remain the mainstay of office leasing with a 35.5% share of gross leasing, having now recorded their best-ever 9M performance for any year having leased 20 mn sq ft so far. The momentum is driven by BFSI and Manufacturing segments within the GCC universe even as Tech remains a key contributor as well.
Domestic occupiers remain on a strong footing in terms of their share in leasing activity at 42% of the 9M leasing volumes, equating to 23.6 mn sq ft. They are driven by the indigeneous flex firms which contributed a 39.5% share in the domestic occupier activity levels.
Third-party tech firms – both global and domestic continue having a standout year with their reimagined service delivery models and focus on high-value work around transformative AI technologies have seen them lease 11.4 mn sq ft in Jan-Sep 2025 – 92% of previous year’s full year numbers and on track to have a record performance.
On an overall basis, Flex was the leading occupier segment with its share in Q3 leasing, hitting the highest ever at 23.8%, followed by Tech 22.8%. For the 9M (Jan-Sep) 2025, IT/ITeS leads with a 28.0% share, followed by Flex with 19.0%. BFSI and Manufacturing shares continue to remain robust at 15-16% through current year.
Overall vacancy for the top seven cities was recorded at 15.7%, down by 40 bps q-o-q and lowest in 17 quarters, indicating the strong net absorption momentum. On a q-o-q basis, vacancy declined across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Delhi NCR.
New office completions reached 13.5 mn sq ft during the quarter, representing a drop of 8.6% q-o-q and a marginal drop of 2.3% y-o-y. Pune, Delhi NCR, and Bengaluru led the new completions activity during the quarter for a combined share of 61.6%.
Average rents in Q3 2025 across all cities rose between 0.4-3.2% on a q-o-q basis, with Delhi NCR clocking the maximum rental growth of 3.2%, followed by Hyderabad with 2.8%, Bengaluru and Chennai with 1.4% and 1.3% respectively, followed by the rest.
The rental values on a y-o-y basis (Q3 2025 vs Q3 2024) have increased across all cities, with Hyderabad witnessing the maximum growth of 18.7%, followed by Kolkata and Bengaluru with growths of 12.3% and 8.0%, respectively. Rents in Delhi NCR and Mumbai have grown y-o-y by 7.6% and 4.5%, whereas Chennai and Pune have seen 3.2% and 1.9% y-o-y rental growth, respectively.
India’s relative immunity to global uncertainties and headwinds has now positioned it as a market that is tuned towards growth across both headcount and real estate footprint metrics. With robust office occupancies already causing a space crunch in existing portfolios of large occupiers there are clear signals of portfolio expansion actions moving ahead.
The market remains well on track with its strong pipeline of deal activity and current performance to push India’s leasing volumes to unprecedented levels of 80 mn sq ft or even higher.
Demand from GCCs – both existing ones and new country entrants remains strong, making up ~50% of all active space requirements. At a sector level, the strong rebound in third-party tech activity is providing a strong fillip to India’s tech outsourcing sector with the pivot centered around AI and other cutting-edge technology offerings. International banking and financial services players' appetite for offshore operational centres, complemented by the manufacturing sector dynamism fostered through strategic policy initiatives also form a key element for the market's future growth potential.
A strong deal pipeline offers support to surging leasing volumes and tight vacancy rates indicate a geography that features as the focal point of business expansion for global corporates.