India Market Monitor Q2 2024

India's gross domestic product (GDP) continues to exhibit resilience, characterised by steady progress in recent quarters. The government has revised the full-year real GDP growth estimate for FY 2023-24 upwards to 8.2%. Similarly, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised the real GDP forecast for FY 2024-25 to 7.2% from an earlier estimate of 7%, citing improving rural and urban demand buoyed by favourable monsoon forecasts, an uptick in services and the government’s capex thrust.

 

Significant growth in the manufacturing and mining sectors has also driven the country’s real gross value added (GVA) for FY 2023-24 to 7.2%, compared to 6.7% in FY 2022-23. However, persistent food price pressures may necessitate a postponement of the central bank’s anticipated rate-cutting cycle until later in the year.

 

With this backdrop, here is a review of the key trends witnessed in the real estate sector in Q2 2024:

 

- Office: India’s off­ice leasing activity remained robust in the second quarter of 2024, driven by continued expansionary decision-making by domestic corporates and global capability centres (GCCs). The surge in activity resulted in absorption touching the second highest H1 peak on record.

 

- Retail: Absorption increased in the first half of the year on an annualised basis. The ongoing introduction of quality supply is expected to continue stimulating an uptick in overall retail space take-up in the coming quarters.

 

- Residential: India's housing market maintained robust momentum in the first half of 2024, with sales surpassing 156,000 units. This strong performance was supported by a consistent stream of new launches, totalling about 153,000 units.

 

- Investments: Investment activity witnessed an upswing in the first half of 2024; sustained capital inflows are expected in both traditional and emerging sectors during the year. Institutional investors were notably active in Q2 2024, dominating the capital flows.

 

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