India land deals surge to 18,158 acres in five years: Cushman & Wakefield

Annual transacted acreage rose from 813 acres in 2021 to 6,181 acres in 2025, while tier-II cities increased their share of annual transactions to 34 per cent

As much as 18,159 acres of land were transacted across India over the past five years in a sharp market acceleration, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield.

 

The consultancy tracked over 892 deals across 33 cities between 2021 and early 2026, fueled by surging infrastructure spend and job creation beyond established urban centres.

 

Annual transacted acreage rose from 813 acres in 2021 to 6,181 acres in 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate of about 66 per cent. Another 1,194 acres changed hands in the first quarter of 2026 alone.

 

Transactions in 2025 were 1.6 times the previous peak recorded in 2024, the report said.

  

The land transacted over the past five years has the potential to generate nearly 1.4 billion square feet of future built-up area and an estimated ₹16.67 trillion in revenue, based on current planning norms and capital values.

 

“Economic growth, infrastructure capex and employment generation are driving the expansion in land transactions,” said Somy Thomas, executive managing director, capital markets, Cushman & Wakefield.

 

Expanding cities were generating demand for houses, offices, retail, warehousing and other real estate assets, he said.

 

Improved connectivity through expressways and other infrastructure was also making satellite cities more accessible, widening development.

 

Residential remained the largest land-use category, accounting for 45 per cent of total transacted acreage between 2021 and Q1 2026. Thomas expects housing to remain the dominant driver even as demand from other asset classes increases.

 

Office-linked land transactions increased fivefold between 2021-22 and 2024-25, from 76 acres to 384 acres.

 

Industrial and logistics acquisitions grew nearly 13-fold in terms of acreage, accounting for 27 per cent of total transactions in 2024-25 compared with 7 per cent in 2021-22.

 

Manufacturing-led growth, supported by government initiatives such as Make in India and production-linked incentive schemes, is emerging as the larger driver, while ecommerce and modern retail are supporting warehousing demand.

 

Data centres are also becoming an important component of land demand. While their share of overall transactions remains relatively small, the size of data-centre land deals has grown sharply since 2021.

 

Tier-I cities accounted for 71 per cent of total transacted acreage during 2021-Q1 2026. However, activity in Tier-II markets has increased substantially, with annual transactions rising from 16 acres in 2021 to 2,120 acres in 2025. Their share of annual transactions consequently increased from around 2 per cent to 34 per cent.

 

Average deal sizes have also diverged. The average Tier-I transaction declined from 21 acres in 2021 to 10 acres, while the Tier-II average increased from 8 acres to 53 acres.

 

Coimbatore, Indore, Visakhapatnam, Ludhiana, Panipat and Nagpur are among the Tier-II markets witnessing increased activity, while satellite cities around major urban centres are emerging as growth corridors.

 

Outright purchases continued to account for more than 60 per cent of total acreage transacted, at 10,910 acres.

 

However, joint ventures and joint development structures accounted for more than 4,405 acres during the period, with the number of such transactions increasing from 11 in 2021 to 42 in 2025.

 

Thomas expects partnership-led transactions to gain further ground as land prices rise.

 

“Once land prices become high, it is more attractive to partner rather than deploy expensive capital upfront to acquire land and then struggle to generate adequate returns,” he said.

 

Long-lease transactions accounted for nearly 2,520 acres, while redevelopment transactions contributed 323 acres during the period.

 

Land acquisitions are also largely being undertaken by domestic developers, with debt generally unavailable for land purchases. Developers therefore rely primarily on their own capital or private capital, Thomas said.

 

Land prices have increased significantly across Tier-I and Tier-II markets over the past three to five years, but the pace of appreciation is expected to moderate, Cushman & Wakefield said.

 

Thomas attributed the expected moderation primarily to the higher base. “Land prices have reached a critical level in several locations, making it harder to sustain the same rate of appreciation,” he said.

 

He expects prices to continue rising, although the rate will vary considerably across micro-markets depending on economic activity and infrastructure development.

 

The report estimates that the 18,158 acres transacted could support 559-768 million square feet (msf) of residential development, 205-225 msf of industrial and logistics space and 109-179 msf of office space.

 

Data centres could account for 113-124 msf and retail for 8-26 msf.

 

“With recent land acquisitions carrying the potential to create nearly 1.4 billion square feet of built-up stock, the scale of opportunity embedded in these transactions is substantial across residential, commercial, industrial and digital infrastructure,” Thomas said.