India's Office Spaces Surge as Return-to-Office Fuels Record Leasing and Growth
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India commercial real estate market is seeing a massive comeback, with office space leasing jumping a robust 9% in the July-September 2026 quarter to hit 18.7 million square feet across the top seven cities. This marks a record-high for the third quarter in recent years, defying earlier concerns about remote work and highlighting a strong return-to-office trend. Property consultant Colliers India data reveals this surge is also a 7% increase compared to the previous quarter, indicating a sustained upward trajectory in the market. The overall momentum is powered by Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and flexible workspace operators, which are rapidly expanding their footprints across major Indian cities. GCCs alone drove a significant portion of the demand, with some reports showing them accounting for nearly half of the Grade A office leasing in the first half of 2026, while flexible workspaces saw a 37% year-on-year increase in leasing during the first nine months of the year. Cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Delhi-NCR are leading this charge, experiencing substantial growth in office space uptake, even as Mumbai, Pune, and Chennai saw a slight dip in Q3. This strong demand is also pushing new office supply, with over 19 million square feet completed in Q3 2026 alone, reflecting developers' confidence in the market. Looking ahead, the Indian office market is poised for continued robust growth, with Colliers projecting total transactions across major markets to reach 75-80 million square feet for the full year 2026. The continued emphasis on return-to-office mandates by companies, coupled with the expansion plans of GCCs and the increasing integration of flexible spaces into corporate real estate strategies, suggests a sustained demand. With average office rentals also on the rise and a potential to hit 100 million square feet of annual demand in the coming years, industry watchers anticipate a dynamic period for commercial real estate in India.