India office leasing reached a record 61.06 million square feet across the country’s seven largest markets in the first nine months of 2026, as global capability centres accounted for nearly 43% of demand, a JLL India assessment found.
Key Takeaways
- Net absorption reached a nine-month record of 41.96 million square feet, up 5.3% from a year earlier.
- Vacancy stood at 14.8% at the end of September, up from the previous quarter but down from a year earlier.
- Bengaluru led the seven markets with 17.11 million square feet of gross leasing.
India office leasing gains momentum
Gross leasing accelerated to 23.17 million square feet in the July–September quarter, rising 40.9% from the preceding quarter after a mid-year slowdown.
Global capability centres, or GCCs, leased 26.2 million square feet in January–September, up 30.6% year on year and representing 42.9% of total leasing. Flexible office operators took up 13.83 million square feet, their highest total for a comparable nine-month period.
JLL India CEO Radha Dhir said active negotiations and plans for more GCCs to set up in India put 2026 on course to exceed the previous year’s record. She said annual gross leasing could potentially reach 100 million square feet over the next two to three years; that is a projection, not a reported result.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Bengaluru | 17.11 million sq ft leased; up 15.4% year on year |
| Hyderabad | 9.93 million sq ft leased; up 32% year on year |
| Mumbai | 8.75 million sq ft leased; up 17.7% year on year |
| Pune | 8.25 million sq ft leased; up 31.6% year on year |
New supply lifts vacancy from previous quarter
Vacancy across the seven markets rose 30 basis points from the previous quarter to 14.8% at the end of September, even as it fell 90 basis points from a year earlier. The quarterly increase came alongside the completion of 43.7 million square feet of new office space in the first nine months, the highest addition for that period in the post-Covid phase.
Mumbai and Delhi-NCR recorded their lowest vacancy levels in 16 and 15 years, respectively. Prime office districts across cities continued to report single-digit vacancy.
Brookfield India Real Estate Trust CEO and managing director Shashank Jain said occupiers were increasingly considering workplace quality, operational efficiency and access to talent when evaluating office portfolios.
Bengaluru leads city leasing
Bengaluru remained the largest office market by gross leasing in the first nine months. Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune also recorded year-on-year increases.
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