India office leasing hits record 61 million sq ft in first nine months of 2026

New Delhi: India's office market recorded a historic high of 61.06 million square feet of gross leasing activity during January-September 2026, a report said on Monday.

Leasing activity rebounded sharply in the third quarter to 23.17 million square feet after a mid-year slowdown, the report from JLL said.

This performance was driven by a sharp rebound in deal closures, underlined by GCCs leasing record space in the period to build on the previous year’s historic performance.

“Q3 showed what happens when confidence returns to India's office market. Deals that were on hold in Q2 got signed, and occupiers backed their growth plans with firm commitments,” said Radha Dhir, Chief Executive Officer, India, JLL.

India remains the centre of the global GCC ecosystem, and GCCs have leased 26.2 million sq. ft in just nine months of 2026, which is already 84 per cent of the total in 2025.

Bengaluru leads with a 33.4 per cent share in Q3, and flex operators hit a record 13.83 million sq. ft. in 9 months in 2026 as occupier activity disperses across cities.

Global Capability Centres’ (GCCs) leasing picked up pace during the first nine months of 2026, rising 30.6 per cent year-over-year, with GCCs claiming a 42.9 per cent share of total leasing activity.

Technology and BFSI companies drove GCCs’ market expansion activity, with manufacturing firms following closely. Overall, foreign-headquartered organisations maintained their dominant presence, accounting for 57.8 per cent of leasing during this period.

Domestic occupier activity was led by indigenous flex operators, who captured 52 per cent of total space leased by domestic firms during the first nine months of 2026. Vacancy was marginally up by 30 bps q-o-q to 14.8 per cent, with the highest quarterly supply coming on-stream in nearly 5 years in Q3 2026.

GCC demand remains robust, driven by expansion from existing players and new country entrants across banking, financial services, manufacturing, tech R&D, retail, logistics, infrastructure, and aerospace domains.

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