Office space leasing rises 74% in Jan-Mar across top 8 cities: Knight Frank

India's top eight office markets witnessed a 74 per cent rise in gross leasing of office spaces in the latest March quarter to a record 282 lakh square feet, mainly driven by a strong demand for foreign firms setting global capability centres (GCCs), according to Knight Frank.

On Thursday, real estate consultant Knight Frank India released its 'India Real Estate: Office and Residential Report' for January-March 2025.

"Q1 2025 was an exceptional period for the Indian office space market. With the demand for GCCs consistently breaching new highs, global perception of India as a long-term investment destination continues to strengthen," Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director of Knight Frank India, said.

Among eight major cities, Knight Frank data showed that the gross leasing of office space in Bengaluru jumped more than three times to 127 lakh square feet during January-March 2025 from 35 lakh square feet in the year-ago period.

Around 58 per cent (74 lakh square feet) of the area transacted in Bengaluru were accounted for by pre-commitments.

In Hyderabad, the office demand rose 31 per cent to 40 lakh square feet, from 30 lakh square feet.

Pune witnessed a 91 per cent increase in office demand to 37 lakh square feet, from 19 lakh square feet, while Mumbai saw a 24 per cent increase in workspaces leasing to 35 lakh square feet, from 28 lakh square feet.

The gross leasing of office space in Chennai grew 56 per cent to 18 lakh square feet, from 12 lakh square feet.

However, Knight Frank data showed that the office leasing in Delhi-NCR dropped 33 per cent to 21 lakh square feet, from 31 lakh square feet.

The demand in Ahmedabad fell 54 per cent to 2.2 lakh square feet, from 5 lakh square feet.

The gross leasing of office spaces in Kolkata declined 16 per cent to 1.6 lakh square feet during January-March 2025, from 2 lakh square feet in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Knight Frank noted that office space transactions were primarily driven by the GCCs which saw leasing of 124 lakh square feet in the latest March quarter, as against 50 lakh square feet in the year-ago period.

Leading office space developer Mindspace REIT CEO Ramesh Nair said "India's office market is witnessing record leasing momentum, led by strong demand from GCCs, BFSI, technology firms, and the rapidly growing data center sector".

Nair further noted that, "we are seeing a clear shift in occupier preferences towards Grade A office spaces that offer more than just infrastructure -- tenants are increasingly valuing premium experiences, including integrated retail, F&B, hospitality, and wellness amenities."  As businesses scale and adopt new workstyles, Nair said the need for well-connected, amenity-rich ecosystems continues to grow, further cementing India's position as a global hub for enterprise, technology, and innovation.