Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai hold 62% of total office space portfolio owned by listed REITs

New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai hold 62 per cent of the total office space portfolio owned by listed Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), according to a report by Assocham and Knight Frank. Industry body Assocham and property consultant Knight Frank India on Tuesday released a report 'Building Viksit Bharat- Real Estate as a Catalyst for Growth', which highlighted the growing role of REITs as a vehicle to monetise, aggregate and recycle capital across real estate assets. As per the report, 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. Out of the 167 million sq ft of REIT-office portfolio, 103.5 million sq ft workspaces are located in three southern cities -- Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai. In India, there are five office-assets-backed listed REITs -- Brookfield India Real Estate Trust, Embassy Office Parks REIT, Mindspace Business Parks REIT, Knowledge Realty Trust and Bagmane Prime Office. Bengaluru has the highest REIT penetration among the major office markets, with 67.6 mn sq ft of REIT-backed office stock accounting for 27 per cent of the workspace inventory in the city. 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 26.2 million sq ft of REIT-backed stock, covering 20 per cent of its office inventory, supported by Knowledge Realty Trust and Mindspace. Mumbai has 24.6 million sq ft of REIT stock, equivalent to 14 per cent of its office inventory. In Delhi-NCR and Pune, the share of the REIT-portfolio stood 11 per cent each of the total office stock in these two cities. In Chennai and Kolkata, the REIT penetration is 10 per cent each. In Ahmedabad, only 1 per cent of total office stocks is under the REIT portfolio. Knight Frank India CMD Shishir Baijal said, "The expansion of listed REITs has strengthened the exit and capital-recycling mechanism available to institutional real estate investors. Stabilised assets can be aggregated into listed portfolios, allowing existing investors to monetise their holdings while widening access to institutional real estate for a broader investor base." Institutionalisation is also extending beyond office as the expansion of retail REITs is widening the geographic footprint of institutional real estate ownership beyond the established office markets, he added. Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary General of Assocham, said, "Real estate is no longer just a growth beneficiary; it is becoming a critical growth enabler for India. As the country moves towards Viksit Bharat, the sector will play a pivotal role in driving investment, creating jobs and enabling the expansion of manufacturing, logistics, technology and new-age businesses." Apart from office REITs, the report noted that the operational retail REIT portfolio stood at 11 million sq ft, while the warehousing InvIT portfolio stood at 44.2 million sq ft as of June 2026. "Roads and fibre continue to dominate the broader InvIT asset base, while warehousing is emerging as an increasingly important component," the report said.