Warehousing space demand may dip this year to 45 mn sq ft: Report

The leasing transactions of warehousing space stood at 47.15 million square feet in 2023 calendar year across Delhi-NCR, MMR, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad and Bengaluru

Demand for premium warehousing spaces may decline slightly to around 45 million square feet this year across top six cities, according to CREDAI and CRE-Matrix report.

The leasing transactions of warehousing space stood at 47.15 million square feet in 2023 calendar year across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

"Leasing of premium warehousing spaces is set to cross 45 million square feet in 2024, with H1 (January-June) 2024 clocking 20.3 million square feet and H2 (July-September) 2024 projected to cross 25 million square feet," realtors body CREDAI and data analytics firm CRE-Matrix said.

India's Grade A warehousing stock is projected to surpass 300 million square feet by 2025 - which currently stands at 238.5 million square feet, providing a promising outlook for stakeholders.

"The Indian Real Estate market is evolving rapidly, with specialised segments like warehousing complementing the robust growth of the more traditional segments," Boman Irani, President at CREDAI, said.

He noted that cities like Pune and MMR have emerged as critical industrial hubs, accounting for nearly 50 per cent of the Grade A warehousing demand.

"As these regions continue to develop - with increased investments, the establishment of new manufacturing units, and the rise of e-commerce, we foresee sustained momentum in demand going into Q4 2024 and the new year - underscoring the untapped potential and strategic opportunity for developers and investors alike," Irani said.

"India's position in the global landscape is extremely unique - global manufacturers are either shifting from China or expanding into India and on the other side, we are seeing a massive expansion of e-commerce and 3PL based on the consumption patterns in tier-I and tier-II cities of India," Abhishek Kiran Gupta, Co-founder and CEO of CRE Matrix, said.

The India advantage of low wages, technology push in manufacturing coupled with ease of doing business will be the driving factors over the next few years, he added.