Office Space Leasing at Record 45.5 Mn sq ft in Top 9 Cities During Jan-Jun: CBRE

Office leasing rose 10 % to a record 45.5 million sq ft during January-June across nine major cities, driven by stronger demand, especially from foreign firms setting up Global Capability Centres (GCCs), according to CBRE.

The gross leasing stood at 41.5 million sq ft in the year-ago period.

"In the first half of 2026 (H1 2026), the sector recorded a historic absorption of 45.5 million square feet, the highest ever registered in any half-year period. Supply totalled 32 million square feet, the highest ever recorded in the first half of a calendar year," CBRE said.

As per the data, the gross leasing by GCCs rose to 19.6 million sq ft from 16.8 million sq ft a year ago, despite global economic uncertainties. The nine cities are: Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Kochi.

"India's office market continues to demonstrate its structural depth and resilience, delivering back-to-back record quarters even as the world navigates a volatile geopolitical and economic backdrop," said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO - India, South-East Asia, Middle East & North Africa, CBRE.

He said the GCCs are deepening their footprint while flexible space operators scale rapidly across gateway and emerging cities alike.

"We expect this momentum, anchored by strong fundamentals and sustained occupier confidence, to continue through the rest of 2026," Magazine said.

Ram Chandnani, Managing Director, Leasing Services, India, CBRE, said the demand across cities, asset classes and occupier types remains resilient.

"Occupiers are prioritising quality, sustainability and flexibility in equal measure - reflected in the scale-up of flex space adoption, and the continued dominance of green-certified assets," he said.

With investment-grade supply remaining tight relative to demand, Chandnani expects sustained rental appreciation across core micro-markets in the coming quarters.

Leasing of space by co-working operators also increased to 11.1 million sq ft from 7.7 million sq ft.

On the data, Arun Narayan, Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer of BHIVE Workspace, said the sustained momentum in India’s office leasing market highlights the country’s resilience as a global business destination.

"Bengaluru continuing to lead the leasing activities reflects the city’s strong fundamentals, deep talent pool, and growing appeal among GCCs. Despite global macroeconomic uncertainties, occupiers remain confident in India’s long-term growth story and sustained availability of high-quality talent," Narayan said.

Sijo Jose, Co-Founder and Director– Property Acquisition at SpazeOne, said managed workspaces provided by co-working operators are becoming a strategic real estate solution. "We expect this demand to remain robust as companies continue expanding with agile and scalable workplace strategies."