REIT-backed office space expands 74% on-year in first half of 2026

India's operational office space held through listed Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) expanded 74 per cent year-on-year to 167 million sq ft in the first half of 2026, but institutional ownership remains concentrated in a few major markets, according to an ASSOCHAM-Knight Frank report. The operational office REIT portfolio stood at 95.8 million sq ft in H1 2025. At 167 million sq ft as of June 2026, REIT-backed assets accounted for about 16 per cent of India's 1.05 billion sq ft office stock. Bengaluru had the highest REIT penetration among major office markets, with 67.6 million sq ft of REIT-backed office space accounting for 27 per cent of its total office inventory. Hyderabad followed with 26.2 million sq ft, or 20 per cent of its office stock, while Mumbai had 24.6 million sq ft, equivalent to 14 per cent. NCR and Pune had REIT coverage of 11 per cent each, followed by Chennai and Kolkata at 10 per cent each. Ahmedabad had the lowest penetration at just 1 per cent, with REIT-backed assets of 0.5 million sq ft. Listed office REIT platforms also have 36 million sq ft of office space under construction, leading to further expansion in institutional ownership. Bengaluru accounts for the largest share of this pipeline 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. Knight Frank India chairman Shishir Baijal said the expansion of listed REITs was strengthening the exit and capital-recycling mechanism for institutional real estate investors, allowing stabilised assets to be aggregated into listed portfolios and existing investors to monetise their holdings. The operational retail REIT portfolio stood at 11 million sq ft as of June, with about 45% located outside the eight major office markets. These assets are spread across cities including Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, Amritsar, Udaipur, Mangaluru, Mysuru, Indore and Ludhiana. Warehousing InvITs had about 44.2 million sq ft of assets, including 32.2 million sq ft operational assets and a 12 million sq ft development pipeline. Published on September 8, 2026