Commercial real estate picking momentum in top cities

With the drop in Covid cases, residential sales have begun growing again, and along with that commercial real estate has also begun displaying signs of revival. The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, like the first wave, impacted both the housing and the commercial real estate market in recent months. Its influence was limited since developers were quite prepared this time. Commercial real estate is picking up momentum in the top cities of the nation, driven by the IT/ITeS sectors. As per a recent JLL report, India’s net office absorption stood at 4.39 million sq. ft in Q2, showing a 32% YoY increase in major cities. Given the strict nationwide lockdowns over the country in the second quarter, net absorption fell by 16% versus the previous quarter. The quarter-on-quarter drop was lower than 61% during the same period last year when the first wave of the pandemic hit, showing the market’s enhanced resilience, the report noted. An Anarock report said that 7,400 office leases of 90 million sq ft are up for renovation in the top 6 cities in 2021. That is because many IT companies are on a hiring spree amid an expedition in their overall business post the pandemic. Like the future aspects of real estate sector stakeholders, the outlook for the commercial office market has also been growing in Q2 2021, for both leasing and rentals, as per the 29th Edition of Knight Frank-FICCI-NAREDCO Real Estate Sentiment Index Q2 2021. After overcoming the lockdown-induced lull in the second quarter, offices have begun to re-open over cities. Buoyed by the lifting of lockdowns and relaxing of mobility constraints since June, stakeholders anticipate a pick-up in office market activity in the coming six months. Niranjan Hiranandani, National President, NAREDCO and MD, Hiranandani Group, told the media that the demand for office or dispersed commercial portfolios will develop on the back of a consolidation trend and development of satellite offices following the hub and spoke model. A majority of developers are currently bullish on the growth opportunities of the commercial market. Sachin Gawri, Founder and CEO of Rise Infraventures, told the media that in 2021, Delhi-NCR’s leasing market is likely to increase by 20-25% with the majority of activity happening in the second half of the year. Demand is estimated to be run by BFSI, technology, manufacturing and consulting occupiers. The Delhi-NCR area has an 8.5 million sq ft supply pipeline, with Gurugram expected to finish over half of it and Noida the remaining. Increased mall opening hours in various locations, a revival of food and beverage demand and enhanced spending all added to the speedy improvement that rose after the third quarter of 2020. Due to its growth opportunities and secured economic returns, commercial real estate may endure being the favoured choice of investors. Commercial real estate is demonstrating to be a far more fascinating investment option for both individual and institutional investors. Private equity inflows into the commercial market have been rising. As per the Savills analysis, the first half of 2021 saw about 41% of the investment inflows observed in the entire year of 2020, citing that investor confidence is still high. Image Source Also read: Real estate sector records PE investments of over $2.9 bn in H1 2021 Also read: Around Rs 1.35 lakh cr real estate debt under serious pressure