Hyd accounts 10% India’s gross leasing in Q1 2024

Hyderabad: Hyderabad office space market accounted for nearly 10 per cent of India’s gross leasing in Q1 (January-March quarter) of 2024, says the latest report of global property consultant JLL titled ‘Best ever office leasing performance’. The city’s net absorption increased 18.7 per cent share during the quarter.

According to the report, the Hyderabad market has witnessed 40.4 per cent growth in overall gross leasing at 1.37 million sq ft in Q1 2024 over 0.97 million sq ft in the same quarter previous year. The city has seen leasing of 1.73 million sq ft on an average in Q1 period during 2019-22.

India’s overall gross leasing activity reached an impressive 15.16 million sq ft in Q1 2024, an increase of 13.8 per cent compared to 13.32 million sq ft in the same period last year. This marks the third consecutive quarter where gross leasing has surpassed the 15-million-sq-ft mark, following the historical high of 20.94 million sq ft in Q4 2023 and 16.03 million sq ft in Q3 2023.

Notably, this also represents the second-highest gross leasing ever recorded in the first quarter of any year, only trailing the levels of 17.3 million sq. ft witnessed in Q1 2020. The quarter has set the platform for India’s office market to reach and even surpass the peak activity levels witnessed in 2023.

The markets of Chennai, Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Pune achieved historic gross leasing highs in Q1 2024 compared to all previous Q1 performances in these cities. The main forces behind this have been domestic occupiers, particularly in the BFSI, Flex, and manufacturing/ engineering sectors, who have outperformed their international competitors by driving demand in these locations.

Delhi NCR and Bengaluru emerged as frontrunners in the market, accounting for 26.6 per cent and 20.4 per cent of the overall gross leasing in Q1 2024 respectively. Chennai continued its strong showing, following up from the momentum witnessed in 2023, contributing to a significant 17.6 per cent share of the overall leasing. Mumbai and Pune followed with gross leasing figures of 2.11 million sq ft and 1.81 million sq ft respectively.

The Q1 2024 belonged to the domestic occupiers, particularly in the BFSI, Flex, and manufacturing/engineering segments as they gained a majority share in office leasing.