Equity Investments in Real Estate at $2.9 B In Jan-Mar 2025, Marking 74% YoY Growth

New Delhi, April 11, 2025: Total equity investment inflows in real estate stood at $2.9 billion in January-March 2025, recording 74 per cent year-on-year (YoY) and 13 per cent growth in the sequential quarter, says a new report from real estate consulting firm CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd. The report, titled ‘Market Monitor Q1 2025 – Investments’, says investment inflows were primarily fueled by developer activity and significant interest from real estate investment trusts (REITs) and institutional investors during the quarter. Total equity investments during January-March 2024 stood at $1.7 billion.

Land/development sites and built-up office assets cumulatively accounted for nearly 74 per cent of the total capital inflows during January-March 2025. Retail assets saw a rise in investor interest accounting for 5 per cent share in capital inflows during the quarter and 13 per cent QoQ growth due to heightened capital inflows from REITs.

During January-March 2025, Bengaluru led equity real estate investments, followed closely by Mumbai and Delhi-NCR. Together, the three cities accounted for approximately 67 per cent of the total capital inflows. In the category of investors, developers remained the primary drivers of capital deployment, contributing 46 per cent of the total equity inflows. REITs followed with a 23 per cent share, marking a significant increase from the previous quarter, reflecting growing institutional interest in built-up asset classes.

Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO – India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE, said, “India’s real estate sector continues to demonstrate resilience and attract sustained investor interest despite global headwinds. The sharp uptick in capital inflows during January-March 2025 reflects strong fundamentals, robust demand across asset classes, and growing confidence among both domestic and foreign investors. With structural shifts in occupier preferences and evolving market dynamics, we expect this positive momentum to continue across core and emerging segments throughout the year.”

Gaurav Kumar, Managing Director, Capital Markets and Land, CBRE India, said, “The first quarter of 2025 has set a strong precedent for the year, with notable investor interest in development assets, particularly in residential and office segments. The surge in activity from REITs and institutional players further highlights the maturity and depth of the Indian real estate investment landscape. We anticipate continued capital deployment in built-up office, warehousing, and alternative asset classes such as data centres and healthcare, backed by a healthy pipeline of opportunities and stable macroeconomic indicators.”

Outlook 2025

• Investment activity is projected to maintain its positive trajectory in 2025, primarily fueled by capital flows into built-up office and warehousing assets and robust acquisition pipelines for residential, warehousing, and mixed-use development sites.
• India’s metros and Tier-I cities will likely remain the primary recipients of equity inflows. Investment activity is expected to accelerate in the latter half of 2025, contingent upon improvements in global economic conditions and the deployment of dry powder accumulated from an active exit market in 2024.

Equity investments in the real estate sector involve providing capital to acquire, develop, or operate real estate assets in exchange for a share of the ownership and the potential profits generated by those assets. Equity investments include those by private equity funds, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds. institutional investors, real estate developers, real estate fund-cum-developers, investment banks, corporate groups, and REITs, etc.