Kamal Ghorui
Office space demand across the country’s major commercial markets grew in the January–March quarter, with gross leasing rising 15% year-on-year to 18.3 million sq ft across seven cities, according to Colliers India. The real estate consultancy, in its office market update released on Thursday, said leasing activity remained steady despite global uncertainties, supported by stronger occupier demand and the continued expansion of Global Capability Centres (GCCs). Gross leasing across Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune stood at 18.3 million sq ft in the quarter, compared to 15.9 million sq ft in the same period last year. Among cities, Bengaluru continued to lead the market with 5.3 million sq ft of leasing activity, marking an 18% rise from 4.5 million sq ft a year earlier. Hyderabad posted one of the sharpest increases, with leasing doubling to 3.4 million sq ft from 1.7 million sq ft in the corresponding quarter last year. Pune also saw strong momentum, with gross leasing more than doubling to 2.5 million sq ft from 1.2 million sq ft. At the same time, Mumbai recorded a 23% rise in demand at 2.7 million sq ft, up from 2.2 million sq ft in the previous year. In contrast, Delhi-NCR witnessed a 30% decline in gross leasing to 2.3 million sq ft from 3.3 million sq ft, while Chennai fell 31% to 2 million sq ft from 2.9 million sq ft.Kolkata remained unchanged, standing at 0.1 million sq ft, during the quarter. Colliers India noted that gross absorption or leasing figures exclude lease renewals, pre-commitments, and transactions where only a letter of intent has been signed.
