Investment inflows in Indian realty up 18% during Jan-Sep

Leading diversified professional services and investment management company Colliers released its Asia Pacific Market Snapshot Q3 2022 report, which shows that most major real estate markets across the region continued to perform well in the third quarter, despite the loss of some growth momentum in the face of difficult macroeconomic conditions marked by high inflation and rising interest rates. In India, investments into the commercial office sector saw a revival during January-September 2022, jumping 53 per cent from the same period last year. Overall, total investments in the Indian real estate touched Rs 3.6 billion during January-September, registering a hike of 18 per cent year-on-year.

Talking to Bizz Buzz, Piyush Gupta, Managing Director (Capital Markets and Investment Services), Colliers India, said: "The capital inflows in Indian real estate continue to flow in, as long term sustainable growth story remains intact. Further, trend in residential sales is reflective of positive long term structural change in the sector. Investments in India are getting more broad- based with increased participation from domestic investors. The newer avenues are evolving like fractional ownership, AIFs, pooled investment structures are being developed providing depth to both investors and developers."

Rising absorption rates in the residential, office and logistics segments underlined the buoyancy in India's real estate market. Investments into the office sector accounted for almost half of the total investments. India's commercial office segment is back on investors' radar led by increased occupier confidence in the market. During 2022, office leasing is likely to cross 50 million sq feet across the top six cities, surpassing the highs seen in 2019. At the same time, residential sector too has performed well, led by high inclination to own homes, comparatively low interest rates and the offers during the festive season. The industrial and logistics segments will be supported by the planned influx of nearly 20 billion in investments into the manufacturing sector.

Vimal Nadar, Senior Director, Research, Colliers India, said: "Overall, domestic investors have become more active in the market, accounting for about 18 per cent of the investments between January-September, from 14 per cent share last year. At the same time, global investors continue to dominate funding activity with higher participation in entity-led deals. However, global investors are on a wait-and-watch mode until recessionary pressures persist."

Meanwhile, as in the previous quarter, transactions in China's major cities were dominated by deals in the office segment. In Beijing, office assets accounted for 84 per cent of the nearly $577 million in transactions, and it is expected that value-add and core plus office investment opportunities in central areas of the capital will draw domestic and foreign investors.

The quarter witnessed 25 major deals worth $4.38 billion – a quarter-on-quarter jump of 93 per cent – with most of the deals involving industrial assets. We expect sentiment to pick up in Q4 on expectations that Hong Kong, which continues to offer plenty of opportunities to domestic and global investors, will further relax border control measures.

The strong momentum achieved in the first half of the year was restrained by high inflation and rising interest rates. However, investment volumes reached a year-to-date total of $16.7 billion in investments, or 85 per cent of the total figure for 2021. Market players will reassess their portfolios amid the uncertainty, triggering a period of price discovery and repricing, and higher demand for high-quality and inflation-proof assets.