The real estate sector in India attracted US$five point one bn in capital during January to March, representing a 72 per cent increase from US$two point nine bn in the year?ago period, according to a CBRE Group, Inc. (CBRE) report titled India Market Monitor first quarter of 2026 - Investments. CBRE released the report on Wednesday and said the inflows also rose by 53 per cent from US$three point three bn in the October to December quarter of 2025, making the January to March quarter the largest on record for any quarter.

Capital deployment was primarily driven by developers and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), with developers accounting for about 42 per cent of the total and REITs contributing roughly 40 per cent. Investments by REITs surpassed US$two bn as institutions increased allocations into rent?yielding offices and retail properties to broaden portfolios. Domestic investors continued to dominate, constituting about 96 per cent of overall inflows, underlining strong home?grown participation in the market and a preference for yield?oriented assets.

CBRE noted that the multi-fold rise in REIT activity signals a maturing market that is increasingly shifting towards institutionalised, yield?generating assets, and said this trend reflects elevated confidence among domestic investors and institutional players despite prevailing global macroeconomic headwinds. The consultant observed that the resilient economic framework is continuing to attract deep pools of capital and that clearer deployment strategies were expected to encourage renewed foreign investor engagement. CBRE added that multi-pronged investor interest and improving market structures were helping to absorb large transactions.

Geographically, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi?NCR together accounted for around 65 per cent of the investments in the quarter, the report showed. The firm said developers led investment flows, closely followed by REITs, and characterised the quarter as a record for India in terms of capital inflows into the real estate sector. Observers noted that the concentration of transactions in major cities reflected deepening institutional participation and a focus on core office and retail markets.