Historic high office leasing in 9M 2025: Absorption touches 59.6 msf

National – October 6^th, 2025 – CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd, India’s leading real estate consultancy, today released a report titled, ‘CBRE India Office Figures Q3 2025’, highlighting that the office leasing reached 59.6 million square feet (mn. sq. ft.) in the first nine months of 2025 - the highest ever during this period. The report added that technology companies held the highest share in office leasing between January and September. 

“This record-breaking performance reflects the resilience and evolving dynamics of India's commercial real estate sector,” said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO, India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa at CBRE. “As occupiers seek future-ready spaces, sustained preference for flight-to-quality assets continue to anchor this momentum. Going forward, the sustained leasing in premium assets is expected to drive vacancy compression and occupiers are likely to continue exploring peripheral locations, driven by the infusion of high-grade supply.”

According to the report, Bengaluru emerged as the frontrunner in the office space absorption during Jan-Sept 2025, accounting for 25% of the total with 15.1 mn sq. ft. leased.

Mumbai and Delhi-NCR followed with the leasing of 10.6 mn. sq. ft. and 10.2 mn. sq. ft. respectively. Together, these three key markets represented about 61% of the overall office leasing during the period.

Global Capability Centres (GCCs) continued to be the main drivers of the office demand during Jan-Sept 2025, accounting for almost 39% of the total leasing. Bengaluru followed by Pune and Delhi-NCR together accounted for 67% of the total GCC leasing.

Among all sectors, technology firms accounted for the largest share of leasing in 9M 2025. It was followed by flexible space operators and BFSI companies. Cumulatively, these three industries alone accounted for a cumulative share of 60% during Jan-Sept’25.

City highlights (Jul-Sept’25)

Bengaluru: Frontrunner in quarterly space take-up; primarily led by GCCs

• Around 4.3 mn. sq. ft. absorption was recorded
• Key sectors driving absorption included technology (27%), FMCG & retail (23%) and engineering & manufacturing (14%)
  
  

Mumbai: Flex players expand footprint; new quarterly high 

• About 4 mn. sq. ft absorption was recorded
• Key sectors driving absorption included flexible space operators (35%), technology (15%) and BFSI (15%)
  
  

Hyderabad: Domestic flex players and US tech firms lead quarterly absorption

• Around 2.2 mn. sq. ft. absorption was recorded
• Key sectors driving absorption included Flexible space operators (35%), technology (18%), and research, consulting & analytics (18%)
  
  

Delhi-NCR: Quarterly supply peaks to a 13-quarter high, driving leasing activity

• Around 3.8 mn. sq. ft. absorption was recorded
• Key sectors driving absorption included technology (30%), research, consulting & analytics (17%) and flexible space operators (15%)
  
  

Chennai: Flex players and E&M firms key contributors to quarterly space take-up

• Around 1.5 mn. sq. ft. absorption was recorded
• Key sectors driving absorption included flexible space operators (30%), engineering & manufacturing (25%) and technology (18%)
  
  

Pune: EMEA & US GCCs lead quarterly leasing activity

• About 3.2 mn. sq. ft. absorption was recordedKey sectors driving absorption included Engineering & manufacturing (42%), flexible space operators (19%), and technology (15%)
  
  

Kolkata: EMEA & domestic firms lead quarterly space take-up

• Around 0.6 mn. sq. ft. absorption was recorded
• Key sectors driving absorption included technology (60%), research, consulting & analytics (14%) and flexible space operators (11%)
  
  

Kochi: Telecom and flex players drive quarterly absorption

•  Around 0.2 mn. sq. ft absorption was recorded
• Key sectors driving absorption included telecommunications (32%), flexible space operators (30%) and technology (21%)

Ahmedabad: Domestic BFSI players dominate quarterly leasing activity in the city 

• · Around 0.1 mn. sq.ft. absorption was recorded
• · Key sectors driving absorption included BFSI (56%), flexible space operators (33%) and engineering & manufacturing (10%)

Ram Chandnani, Managing Director, Leasing, CBRE India, said that GCCs would remain pivotal to office absorption, accounting for 35-40% of total leasing in 2025.

“Established players might continue taking up space in large integrated tech parks, while new entrants are expected to leverage flexible spaces. While US firms currently dominate the GCC landscape, rising interest from EMEA and APAC occupiers is anticipated to widen the demand base,” he added.

During Q3 2025, office sector leasing stood at 19.9 mn sq. ft. The supply stood at 13.6 mn sq. ft. Bengaluru spearheaded office absorption in Jul-Sept’25 with a 22% share, closely followed by Mumbai at 20% and Delhi-NCR at 19%.

GCCs leased 7.5 mn sq. ft. of office space in the three months, representing 38% of the overall leasing. Bengaluru led with a share of 38%, followed by Pune at 25% and Hyderabad at 15%.

As the demand for quality spaces rises, the supply has also seen an uptick with developers responding by delivering green-certified, amenity-rich campuses that align with the ‘flight-to-quality’ strategy. During the first nine months of this year, the supply rose 10% year-on-year to 41 mn. sq. ft. It was led by Pune, Bengaluru, and Delhi NCR, with a combined share of 66%.

“The current year is expected to conclude with a consistent pipeline of high-quality office stock, with Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Delhi-NCR at the forefront,” Magazine added.