Hyderabad stands to gain as Bengaluru office leasing dips

New Delhi: Bengaluru, India's largest office market, witnessed a 26 per cent year-on-year decline in workspace leasing to 16.7 million sq ft in January-September due to a high base effect, according to Knight Frank.

Real estate consultant Knight Frank India on Monday released its data, which showed that total office leasing remained flat at 66.7 million square feet during the January-September period across eight major cities -- Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata and Ahmedabad. "India's office market continues to grow, even as global businesses operate against a more uncertain geopolitical backdrop. While the headline leasing numbers remain stable, the more important shift is in the nature of demand," said Shishir Baijal, International Partner, Chairman & Managing Director, Knight Frank India.

Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are rapidly expanding their footprint, while flex operators and India-facing businesses are also contributing meaningfully to activity, he added.

"This reflects India's growing role in global capability building and domestic business expansion. With rents rising across all markets, the fundamentals remain healthy as we enter the final quarter," Baijal said. According to data, gross leasing in Mumbai rose to 9.9 million sq ft in January-September from 7.4 million sq ft in the year-ago period. In Pune, the leasing grew to 8.8 million sq ft from 7.4 million sq ft. Ahmedabad saw a marginal increase in leasing to 1.3 million sq ft from 1.2 million sq ft.

Office leasing in Hyderabad rose 50 per cent to 13.1 million sq ft from 8.8 million sq ft. However, office space leasing in Delhi-NCR fell to 9.6 million sq ft from 9.9 million sq ft. In Bengaluru, workspace leasing declined to 16.7 million sq ft from 22.5 million sq ft. The Chennai market saw a decline of 26 per cent to 5.9 million sq ft from 7.9 million sq ft. Lastly, Kolkata saw a marginal decline in office leasing to 1.5 million sq ft in January-September from 1.6 million sq ft in the year-ago period.

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