Institutional investment in India's real estate sector reached one point nine bn dollars in Q2 2026, a 16 per cent quarter-on-quarter increase, according to the Cushman and Wakefield (C&W) Q2 2026 Capital Marketbeat report. The report noted that while investment activity moderated by seven per cent year-on-year the overall market registered steady deployment supported by strong participation from domestic investors and a sustained preference for consistent income-generating assets. For the first half of 2026 institutional investments totalled three point five bn dollars, a six per cent rise over H1 2025, which C&W said reflected continued confidence in India's long-term real estate fundamentals despite global macroeconomic uncertainty.

Office assets continued to dominate institutional activity, attracting nearly one bn dollars and accounting for 51 per cent of total investments in Q2 2026, marking a fifth consecutive quarter of office leadership. Investor interest in office real estate was underpinned by robust occupier demand from global capability centres (GCCs), tightening vacancy levels across major office markets and sustained rental growth in premium micro-markets. Limited availability of investment-grade office assets amplified the sector's attractiveness among institutional investors seeking stable income profiles and liquidity.

Data centres emerged as the second-largest recipient of institutional capital in Q2 2026, accounting for 40 per cent of total investments, reflecting growing investor appetite for digital infrastructure driven by rapid artificial intelligence adoption, cloud expansion and data localisation requirements. Domestic institutions maintained a dominant position in investment activity, contributing 54 per cent of Q2 investments compared with 46 per cent from foreign investors. For H1 2026 domestic investment stood at two point two bn dollars, representing 64 per cent of total activity, while foreign investment totalled one point three bn dollars, or 36 per cent, down from 57 per cent in the corresponding period last year.

C&W's executive managing director for capital markets Somy Thomas said that capital allocation was becoming increasingly differentiated across asset classes, with office attracting a broad spectrum of investors owing to its maturity, liquidity and stable income profile while data centres were drawing growing interest as investors sought to capitalise on India's expanding digital infrastructure ecosystem. He noted that investors were increasingly pursuing portfolio and multi-city opportunities to achieve scale and diversification and that domestic fundraising remained healthy with significant capital available for deployment. C&W concluded that these dynamics were contributing to a deeper and more resilient investment landscape and that investment activity was expected to remain resilient through the second half of 2026 with domestic investors continuing to anchor market momentum.