Four major Indian cities have captured 62% of the total office space portfolio owned by listed Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), according to a report by Assocham and Knight Frank. As reported by The Economic Times, India's eight major cities have a total office stock of 1,054.6 million sq ft as of June this year, out of which 167 million sq ft is held by listed REITs. The report, titled 'Building Viksit Bharat- Real Estate as a Catalyst for Growth', highlights the growing role of REITs as a vehicle to monetise, aggregate and recycle capital across real estate assets.
Bengaluru tops the chart with 27% of its office area under REITs, accounting for 67.6 million sq ft of REIT-backed office stock. According to the latest report, Embassy Office Park remains the largest REIT platform in the city, while the addition of Bagmane's portfolio has materially increased listed institutional ownership. Hyderabad follows with 20% penetration, covering 26.2 million sq ft of REIT-backed stock, supported by Knowledge Realty Trust and Mindspace. Mumbai holds 14% of its office inventory with 24.6 million sq ft of REIT stock. Notably, 103.5 million sq ft of the total 167 million sq ft REIT office portfolio is concentrated in these three southern cities, demonstrating their dominance in institutional real estate investment.
The remaining cities show more modest REIT penetration levels. Delhi-NCR and Pune each account for 11% of their total office stock under REITs, while Chennai and Kolkata both have 10% REIT penetration. Ahmedabad represents the lowest at just 1% of total office stocks under REIT portfolio. The report notes that there are five office-assets-backed listed REITs operating in India: Brookfield India Real Estate Trust, Embassy Office Parks REIT, Mindspace Business Parks REIT, Knowledge Realty Trust and Bagmane Prime Office.
The latest data reveals significant expansion potential with 36 million sq ft of office space currently under construction across listed REIT platforms. Bengaluru accounts for the largest share at 16.3 million sq ft, followed by Mumbai at 4.6 million sq ft, Hyderabad at 3.9 million sq ft and Chennai at 3.8 million sq ft. According to Knight Frank India Chairman and Managing Director Shishir Baijal, as quoted by The Economic Times, the growth of listed REITs has provided institutional investors with an avenue to monetise stabilised assets and recycle capital. The under-construction portfolio represents approximately 19% of the existing operational office REIT stock, indicating substantial future growth in institutional real estate ownership.
The report extends beyond office REITs to highlight the expanding institutional real estate landscape. The operational retail REIT portfolio stands at 11 million sq ft, with Nexus Select Trust accounting for 10.7 million sq ft and Brookfield India Real Estate Trust contributing 0.4 million sq ft. Unlike office REITs, retail REIT assets have a wider geographic spread, with 4.6 million sq ft or 45% of total retail REIT stock located outside the eight major office markets. The warehousing InvIT portfolio reached 44.2 million sq ft as of June 2026, including 32.2 million sq ft of operational assets and a 12 million sq ft development pipeline. Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary General of Assocham, emphasized that real estate is becoming a critical growth enabler for India, playing a pivotal role in driving investment, creating jobs and enabling expansion of manufacturing, logistics, technology and new-age businesses.
