Foreign Capital Leads Institutional Real Estate Investment Activity After Four Quarters: Cushman & Wakefield
Gurugram, October 27, 2026: Institutional investment activity in India’s real estate sector remained robust during the third quarter of 2026, with total investments reaching USD 2.1 billion, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s Q3 2026 Capital MarketBeat press release. The figure represents a 12% quarter-on-quarter and 20% year-on-year increase. Foreign investors led the activity during the quarter by deploying USD 1.4 billion, accounting for 68% of total investments, while domestic institutions contributed USD 0.7 billion, or the remaining 32%.
After four consecutive quarters of domestic-led investment, foreign investors regained the lead in Q3 2026 with foreign inflows increasing 64% quarter-on-quarter and 134% year-on-year. Meanwhile, domestic investments moderated by 34% quarter-on-quarter and 39% year-on-year following high prior deployment bases. Year-to-date institutional investments reached USD 5.5 billion, up 11% year-on-year, with domestic and foreign investors accounting for 52% and 48% of the total, respectively.
The data centre sector emerged as the largest recipient of institutional capital in Q3 2026, attracting 52% of total investments due to demand from artificial intelligence workloads, cloud adoption, and data localization. The hospitality sector accounted for 15% of quarterly inflows, followed by the office sector at 9%.
Multi-city transactions dominated quarterly investment activity at 76%, as investors favored diversified portfolio strategies. Among single markets, Mumbai attracted 9% of quarterly investments, while Delhi-NCR secured 6%. Private equity investors remained the primary source of capital, accounting for 88% of investment activity, while real estate investment trusts contributed 12%.
“India’s real estate investment market delivered another strong quarter despite global economic uncertainties, reflecting sustained confidence in the sector’s underlying fundamentals. While investors remain selective in their deployment strategies, capital continues to gravitate towards opportunities backed by scale and long-term growth potential. The higher share of foreign capital this quarter reflects the attractiveness of India’s real estate sector and the breadth of opportunities available across asset classes. This is also evident in the growing allocation towards data centres, which attracted over half of all institutional investments in Q3 2026, underscoring investors’ growing conviction in India’s digital infrastructure growth story,” said Somy Thomas, Executive Managing Director, Capital Markets, Cushman & Wakefield.
Both private equity funds and real estate investment trusts are expected to continue expanding their portfolios through strategic investments in upcoming quarters.
