India office leasing hits 54.4 million sq ft in Jan-Sept 2026; Bengaluru leads: Report

During the third quarter, Grade A office demand stood at 18.7 million sq ft the highest level recorded for a third quarter in recent years, the report said. Leasing activity also increased 7 per cent sequentially from the second quarter of 2026.

The growth momentum continues to be driven by occupier expansion across multiple demand sectors, coupled with strong space uptake from Global Capability Centers (GCCs) and flex space operators, it said.

At the city level, five of the seven markets recorded year-on-year growth in gross leasing during the first nine months of 2026.

Bengaluru continued to drive office demand, leading space uptake at 15.7 million sq ft, accounting for a 29% share during the nine-month period, it said.

Flex space operators demonstrate a strong upward growth trajectory, with leasing by the segment rising 37 per cent year-on-year to 12.6 million sq ft during January-September 2026. Bengaluru and Delhi NCR were the largest flex markets by volume, recording 2.8 million sq ft of leasing each during the period.

The report further noted that five of the seven office markets recorded higher flex space leasing, with uptake in Delhi NCR and Hyderabad more than doubling year-on-year.

At the same time, conventional space uptake across the top seven office markets remained steady at 41.8 million sq ft and at par with the levels seen during the same period in 2025, during the first three quarters of 2026.

With close to 16 million sq ft of leasing, Technology sector occupiers drove in the bulk of the demand in conventional spaces, followed by BFSI and Engineering & manufacturing firms, collectively accounting for nearly three-fourths of the conventional space uptake during Jan-Sep 2026.

Bengaluru and Hyderabad remained the preferred markets for technology companies, together accounting for more than 55 per cent of conventional office demand from the sector. Mumbai, meanwhile, led BFSI leasing, accounting for 30 per cent of conventional space uptake by the sector during the nine-month period, it said. (ANI)