Grade A mall vacancy across India’s top seven cities fell to a five-year low of 5 per cent in H1 2026, from more than 7.5 per cent at the end of 2025 and 15.5 per cent in 2021, according to ANAROCK Retail’s Retail Real Estate Monitor. Vacancy varied significantly across markets, with Delhi-NCR recording the highest rate and Kolkata the lowest.

Delhi-NCR reported 7 per cent vacancy, compared with 4 per cent in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), creating a 3-percentage-point gap between the two largest retail markets. Vacancy ranged from 1.3 per cent in Kolkata to 7 per cent in NCR. Kolkata was followed by Pune at 3.5 per cent, while Bengaluru, MMR and Hyderabad each recorded 4 per cent. Chennai stood at 6 per cent.

Six of the seven cities recorded a further 60-basis-point quarter-on-quarter decline in vacancy, indicating broad-based tightening in organised retail. Chennai was the exception, with vacancy edging up marginally in Q2 2026. Total Grade A mall stock across the markets stood at around 73.06 mn sq ft at the end of H1 2026, with NCR accounting for the largest share at 19.42 mn sq ft.

MMR recorded 0.65 mn sq ft of leasing, the highest among the tracked cities, despite receiving no new mall supply in Q2. Entertainment, fashion and apparel, and food and beverage led activity, while malls accounted for a larger share of leasing than high streets. Rental momentum was strongest on Linking Road, where rents rose 20 per cent year on year to Rs. 1,000-1,500 per sq ft per month.

NCR added around 0.90 mn sq ft of new mall space during the quarter, but leasing stood at 0.20 mn sq ft. Gurugram accounted for the largest share of activity, followed by Delhi and Noida, with malls contributing more than 60 per cent of quarterly leasing. Bengaluru recorded 0.39 mn sq ft of leasing, Hyderabad 0.23 mn sq ft, Pune 0.50 mn sq ft and Chennai 0.06 mn sq ft, reflecting differing supply pipelines, tenant mixes and demand drivers.