Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi-NCR drive 67% of $3 billion real estate equity inflows in Q1 2025: CBRE

Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi-NCR collectively accounted for 67% of the total equity inflows into real estate, as overall investments touched $3 billion in the January–March 2025 quarter. This marks a significant uptick, with equity investments rising nearly 74% year-on-year and 13% over the previous quarter, a report by CBRE has said.

Investment inflows were primarily fueled by developer activity and significant interest from real estate investment trusts (REITs) and institutional investors during the quarter. Total equity investments during January-March 2024 stood at $1.7 billion, said the report Market Monitor Q1 2025 – Investments.

There was a notable investor interest in development assets, particularly in residential and office segments, it said.

During Jan-Mar 2025, Bengaluru led equity real estate investments, followed closely by Mumbai and Delhi-NCR. Together, the three cities accounted for approximately 67% of the total capital inflows, it said.

Land/development sites and built-up office assets cumulatively accounted for nearly 74% of the total capital inflows during Jan-Mar 2025. Retail assets saw a rise in investor interest accounting for 5% share in capital inflows during the quarter and 13% Q-o-Q growth due to heightened capital inflows from REITs, it said.

In the category of investors, developers remained the primary drivers of capital deployment, contributing 46% of the total equity inflows. REITs followed with a 23% share, marking a significant increase from the previous quarter, reflecting growing institutional interest in built-up asset classes, it said.

Anshuman Magazine, chairman and CEO – India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE, said, “India’s real estate sector continues to demonstrate resilience and attract sustained investor interest despite global headwinds. The sharp uptick in capital inflows during Jan-Mar’25 reflects strong fundamentals, robust demand across asset classes, and growing confidence among both domestic and foreign investors. With structural shifts in occupier preferences and evolving market dynamics, we expect this positive momentum to continue across core and emerging segments throughout the year.”

Gaurav Kumar, managing director, Capital Markets and Land, CBRE India, said, “The first quarter of 2025 has set a strong precedent for the year, with notable investor interest in development assets, particularly in residential and office segments. The surge in activity from REITs and institutional players further highlights the maturity and depth of the Indian real estate investment landscape. We anticipate continued capital deployment in built-up office, warehousing, and alternative asset classes such as data centres and healthcare, backed by a healthy pipeline of opportunities and stable macroeconomic indicators.”

Outlook 2025

As far as outlook for the year is concerned, Investment activity is projected to maintain its positive trajectory in 2025, primarily fueled by capital flows into built-up office and warehousing assets and robust acquisition pipelines for residential, warehousing, and mixed-use development sites, it noted.

It said that metros and tier-I cities will likely remain the primary recipients of equity inflows. Investment activity is expected to accelerate in the latter half of 2025, contingent upon improvements in global economic conditions and the deployment of dry powder accumulated from an active exit market in 2024.