Demand for office space remained strong in the July-September quarter, with gross leasing across seven major Indian cities rising 9 per cent annually to 18.7 mn sq ft, according to data from real estate consultant Colliers India. Gross leasing stood at 17.2 mn sq ft in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The data covers Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune and Chennai. Leasing activity increased in Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad and Kolkata, while demand declined in Mumbai, Pune and Chennai. Gross absorption excludes lease renewals, pre-commitments and transactions where only a Letter of Intent has been signed.

Bengaluru recorded an 11 per cent increase in office leasing to 5.2 mn sq ft from 4.7 mn sq ft a year earlier. In Delhi-NCR, leasing more than doubled to 3.3 mn sq ft from 1.6 mn sq ft. Hyderabad reported a 47 per cent rise to 2.2 mn sq ft from 1.5 mn sq ft during the quarter.

Kolkata saw leasing increase four-fold to 0.4 mn sq ft from 0.1 mn sq ft. In contrast, Mumbai recorded a 20 per cent decline to 2.4 mn sq ft from 3 mn sq ft. The figures indicate that the strongest gains were concentrated in Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad and Kolkata, which offset weaker activity in the other markets.

Pune reported a 14 per cent fall in leasing to 3.2 mn sq ft from 3.7 mn sq ft. Chennai recorded a 23 per cent year-on-year decline, with gross leasing falling to 2 mn sq ft from 2.6 mn sq ft. Office space is leased directly by developers to corporate occupiers, while real estate firms also provide premises to co-working operators, which sub-lease space to enterprises.