India's REITs offer fivefold expansion potential

India’s REIT landscape has evolved at a rapid pace, given that the country listed its first REIT only in 2019. What proved interesting though was the fact that India’s first listed REIT in 2019, Embassy Office Parks, backed by Blackstone and Embassy Group, was then Asia’s biggest REIT in terms of area. Now, the most recent REIT, Knowledge Realty Estate, is the biggest in India in terms of Gross Asset Value (GAV) upon being publicly listed.

This points to the immense potential that the India office market offers. In fact, with the office asset class rebounding spectacularly once the COVID effect was truly behind us, it epitomised the durability of the sector in India, strengthening a truly one-of-a-kind growth opportunity for global investors. It becomes imperative to highlight a couple of statistics: India’s office markets recorded successive historic highs in gross leasing activity from 2023, with the same expected in 2025 as well. Secondly, India’s office stock discussion has moved from Grade A to investment-grade, with 15% of office stock under REITs and 30% of the rest already under institutional ownership (owned fully or partially by global and/or domestic funds). The REIT ecosystem took off between 2019 and 2021. It has since grown to five listed REITs: four dominated by offices and one by the retail segment. This growth continues to add to the tailwinds propelling India’s commercial office market.

The combined market capitalisation of REITs has grown sixfold from the first listing to the September 30, 2025, cut-off date. This remarkable growth signals strong investor activity. Additionally, diversification of sponsor holdings makes an important statement about the market’s maturity. Non-sponsor institutional holdings have grown significantly for two of the three earliest listed office REITs. This showcases sustained institutional investor interest in the REIT market. The GAV for the REIT market is now estimated at INR 2.6 trillion (~USD 29 billion) post the most recent acquisitions by REITs in the last two months.

Figure 1: India REIT GAV growth and opportunity runway

Source: JLL Research, 2025

But the story is not limited to the numbers alone. A spate of regulatory changes and the growth runway offered by the office and retail sectors are supercharging the public REIT market in India. REITs provide a viable and smart exit opportunity for private equity investors. At the same time, they open the doors for more patient, sovereign, and pension capital that seeks stable income and growth investment avenues in global markets. More recently, the categorisation of REITs as equity instruments has opened the doors for future index inclusion. It has also enabled greater fund allocation from equity-based mutual funds and other investor groups, enhancing the opportunity for increased liquidity in these products. The size of the opportunity offered by the office and retail segments across the top seven cities in terms of REIT-worthy assets and upcoming investment-grade assets is INR 10.8 trillion. This could potentially expand the REIT market by approximately five times from its current size. Currently, there are at least 3-4 entities that are planning a REIT listing over the next 12-24 months’ horizon. With strong market fundamentals, we can expect that global and domestic capital providers will increase their allocations to Indian REITs going forward. Read our latest report on the India REIT market here.