Foreign investors deploy over $18 billion in real estate in past years

In total, $43.3 billion was invested in the Indian real estate market between 2018 and 2022, according to a new analysis by CBRE South Asia. Over this time, equity investments totalled $31.8 billion while debt investments came in at $11.5 billion. About 58 per cent of all equity investments in Indian real estate were made by foreign investors, the majority of whom were based in North America and Singapore. Since 2018, investors from North America and Singapore have continued to make up the majority of foreign equity investors, with shares of almost 41 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively. Over the previous five years, cross-regional investments (from nations outside of APAC) have dominated, making up approximately 47 per cent of all foreign equity investments. Investments with domestic origins came in second (42 per cent). The remainder of equity investment flows came from within the area (APAC countries). Investors, especially foreign institutional investors, continued to place most of their money in the office sector. Over 40 per cent of all stock inflows have come from this industry, which has attracted investments worth close to $13 billion. Despite domestic and international difficulties brought on by COVID-19, core assets (built-up office properties) showed resiliency by piquing institutional investors' interest. It was closely followed by the acquisition of sites and land parcels, for which approximately $12 billion was used, or 39 per cent of all equity investments made from 2018 to 22. Anshuman Magazine, chairman and CEO - India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE, said that over the next two years, we expect investment flows to remain steady with cumulative inflows of $16-17 billion. Taking into account historical and current trends and the capital that existing investment platforms have raised over the past two to three years, we anticipate that the office sector will continue to attract the largest share of institutional inflows, followed by I&L and sites/land parcels. Investment through land acquisitions According to the report, over 6,800 acres of land were purchased between 2018 and 22. In the last two years, there has been a noticeable increase in activity, with approximately 60 per cent of the property being purchased starting in January 2021. Over 37 per cent of the land purchased since 2018 has gone to homes, indicating that the residential market has gained the most traction. Developers have stepped up their game further by purchasing over 900 acres for residential projects, accounting for 43 per cent of all land purchases recorded in 2022. Residential and mixed-use land parcels accounted for roughly 60 per cent of the entire share of the investment flows in site acquisition. Together, these two industries drew capital flows of over $7 billion, which is anticipated to result in a robust supply in the upcoming years. Given the geographical distribution of land acquisition activity, Delhi-NCR took the lead by acquiring more than one-fourth of the total amount of land acquired between 2018 and 22. At almost 14 per cent each, Mumbai and Hyderabad came in second and third. With a share of 31 per cent of the total investments made for the purchase of land parcels, Mumbai was in the first place, closely followed by Delhi-NCR. Bengaluru and Hyderabad were other prominent cities that captured 9 per cent and 7 per cent of the total investments made in land acquisitions. Also Read Private equity inflows into Indian real estate fell 95%Developers prioritise acquiring land in Mumbai and Delhi-NCR