Office Space Leasing Clocks 53.43 Million Sq ft In Jan-Sep Period: JLL

During the three quarters of 2024, i.e. the period between January 2024 to September 2024, India witnessed its highest ever office space leasing at 53.43 million square feet (msf), reported JLL, a real estate company.

Emerging as a leader for the second straight quarter, Bengaluru contributed 24.6% of the total leasing activity followed by Delhi NCR at 23.1%. Notably, the two cities have been fighting neck and neck for the top two spots for quite some time but remain the biggest occupier in the leasing space. Strong leasing activity was also observed in Mumbai and Hyderabad during Q3, in which their contribution stood at 15.6% and 14.9% respectively.

Meanwhile, during the July-September quarter, gross leasing activity touched 19.89 million sq ft.

Gross leasing means total lease transactions recorded during the period which includes confirmed pre-commitments, but excludes the term renewals.

During the third quarter, net absorption stood at 12.16 million sq. ft as compared to 10.69 sq ft a year ago, clocking a growth of 14.9% QoQ.

Bengaluru contributed around 34.1% of the total net absorption, followed by Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Pune, which stood at 15.8%, 15.2% and 14.8% respectively. Net absorption for nine months stood at 31.03 million sq. ft clocking a growth of 19% YoY for the same period last year.

Net absorption is calculated as the difference between occupied new floor space and vacated floor space. Notably, pre-committed floor space is not considered as absorbed unless it’s physically occupied.

During the third quarter, global occupiers accounted for 56.8% share of the gross leasing volumes as they continue to drive their real estate expansion plans in India. Notably, flex emerged as the biggest occupier in the category with 22% share in Q3 leasing activity, which is followed by tech, BFSI and manufacturing/engineering at 17.9%, 16.5% and 13.8% respectively

On a cumulative basis for January-September 2024 period, tech leads with 24.4% followed by flex at 19.2%.

India’s gross leasing activity is set to hit 70 million square feet by the end of 2024.