Equity investments in real estate up 74% at $2.9 billion in Q1CY25

Total equity investment inflows into real estate stood at $2.9 billion in the first quarter of the calendar year 2025 (Q1 CY25), marking a 74 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase, according to CBRE South Asia, a real estate consulting firm. In the same quarter last year (Q1 CY24), investments stood at $1.7 billion.

 

Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi-NCR accounted for 67 per cent of the total equity inflows. Sequentially, investments grew by 13 per cent. The inflows were primarily driven by developer activity and heightened interest from real estate investment trusts (Reits) and institutional investors.

 

Land or development sites and built-up office assets together comprised nearly 74 per cent of the total capital inflows during Q1 CY25. Retail assets made up 5 per cent of the inflows during the quarter, posting 13 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) growth, largely due to increased investments by Reits.

   

Anshuman Magazine, chairman and chief executive officer – India, South-East Asia, Middle East and 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.”

 

Investment activity is expected to maintain a positive trajectory in 2025, driven by capital flows into built-up office and warehousing assets and strong acquisition pipelines for residential, warehousing, and mixed-use development sites.

 

India’s metros and Tier-I cities are likely to remain the primary recipients of equity inflows. Investment activity is expected to accelerate in the second half of 2025, depending on improvements in global economic conditions and the deployment of dry powder accumulated from an active exit market in 2024.

 

Gaurav Kumar, managing director of capital markets and land at CBRE India, said, “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.”