'The market today is different -- more mature and conducive. As a national player, you can't not be in Mumbai. And competition is always good.'
The government's Budget announcements providing tax holiday for data centres, setting up of city economic regions (CERs) and funding to improve infrastructure in Tier-II and -III cities may give an indirect boost to India's realty sector, said industry executives.
India's leading real estate developers are accelerating their push into plotted development, a segment once dominated by unorganised players but now reshaped by branded offerings, faster cash flows and evolving buyer preferences. This strategic shift is visible across markets such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Gurugram, peripheries of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and even Tier-II cities.
Developers are entering one of the busiest construction cycles, with the top four firms planning launches worth Rs 1.13 trillion over the near to medium term, even as execution faces pressure from approval delays, labour shortages, rising costs, and contractor capacity limits across the industry.
Currently, India has five publicly listed Reits: Brookfield India Real Estate Trust, Embassy Office Parks Reit, Mindspace Business Parks Reit Nexus Select Trust, and Knowledge Realty Trust.
India's top listed real estate developers - DLF, Lodha Group, Prestige Estates, and Oberoi Realty, excluding Godrej Properties - reported strong presales growth in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025-26 (FY26), even as earnings showed a mixed trend. According to Nomura, the top five developers - DLF, Lodha, Prestige, Oberoi, and Godrej - recorded a cumulative 59 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in presales.
High-street rentals continue to outpace those of malls, as retailers focus on prime locations and are willing to pay a premium for visibility. Between 2021 and 2025, rental values on prime high street have grown 7-15 per cent annually, driven by strong consumption density and limited new supply, even outpacing grade A malls, which grew by 5-8 per cent, according to Anarock.
Affordable homes, priced under Rs 40 lakh per unit, may not be attractive anymore, not just for developers but also for investors, with the segment seeing a 26 per cent price rise over three years since 2022 versus 40 per cent returns from luxury homes priced Rs 1.5 crore and above.
With average returns of 18 per cent over the past year, listed real estate investment trusts (Reits) have clearly outperformed both the Nifty Realty index and the Sensex. Over the same period, Nifty Realty fell 15.5 per cent, while the benchmark index was largely unchanged. Steady office leasing, the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) decision to reclassify Reits as equity instruments, and ongoing portfolio expansion have strengthened the sector's appeal.
India's real estate investment trust (Reit) sector is set for robust expansion, with at least one new Reit expected to enter the market each year over the next three-five years. This growth trajectory builds on rising occupancies, surging leasing activity, and increasing investor interest.
Equity markets this week will turn their focus on the RBI's interest rate decision, Q1 earnings from several blue-chip firms and tariff-related news for further cues, analysts said. Moreover, trading activity of foreign investors and trends in global equity markets will also drive investors' sentiment.
Office space owners are looking at good times ahead as rentals are expected to rise due to demand for Grade A office spaces outpacing supply that has been sluggish due to construction delays, long gestation periods and developers' interests shifting to residential.
Developers based outside Mumbai are making a beeline for India's largest real estate market through redevelopment projects. These include Delhi-based DLF, Bengaluru-based Prestige Estates and Puravankara, Pune-based Kolte-Patil Developers and Vascon Engineers, and Hyderabad-based Ramky Estates.
Rakesh Kerwell, director (north), DLF India Limited, said with the apex vacating the stay, the company will resume work on a war footing to make up for the time lost during the stay period since April 19.
Data centres are increasingly becoming a key part of the real estate landscape, as reality firms - with rich expertise in land acquisition, construction and dealing with government approvals - are seeing them as opportunities to build long-term assets with continuous revenue flow.
Gensol Engineering, the beleaguered firm that came under market regulator Sebi's lens for fund diversions and governance lapses, said that its independent director Arun Menon has resigned with immediate effect.
Future Gaming and Hotel Services whose director is the lottery magnate Santiago Martin is the top purchaser of electoral bonds having purchased bonds worth Rs 1,368, according to data uploaded by the Election Commission of India on its website on Thursday.
DLF has launched a mega discount sale of its properties.
India's largest real estate player, DLF, has sold its entire stake in Adone Hotels and Hospitality Limited (Adone) to Kolkata-based Avani Projects and Square Four Housing & Infrastructure for Rs 567 crore.
The list includes Gautam Adani's brother Vinod Adani among others.
DLFknowingly suppressed material facts: Sebi
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Since the cash flows will be impacted in a big way, DLF will have to resort to selling non-core assets in a substantial and significant manner through the next few quarters.
The order followed complaints against DLF Gurgaon Home Developers.
Enquiries indicate it belongs to an industrialist with links to a prominent cricketer.
It also asked why the data shared pertained to a period from April 2019 even though the scheme for anonymous political funding was introduced in 2017.
DLF has long been embroiled in a controversy over a deal that brought windfall profits to Robert Vadra, son-in-law of United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
From steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal to billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal's Airtel, Anil Agarwal's Vedanta, ITC, Mahindra and Mahindra, and a lesser-known Future Gaming and Hotel Services were among the prominent buyers of the now-scrapped electoral bonds for making political donations.
This measure will ensure that the price of a scrip cannot move upward or downward beyond a limit set for the day.
The 30-share Sensex ended down 35 points at 26,349 and the 50-share Nifty ended down 20 points at 7,864.
'The impact of CEO transition is fairly even for stocks, with about half (53 per cent) of the events not producing any change in the relative performance of the stock.'
'What can a teacher do that ChatGPT cannot?'
Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala on Thursday said real estate developers are afflicted with very low return on capital as compared to bluechip stocks. Jhunjhunwala, who runs RARE Enterprises and is set to be a major shareholder in an upcoming airliner, said only the affordable housing developers can look at listing because of the volumes which they can deliver. It can be noted that very few developers like Macrotech Developers formerly Lodha, and DLF are listed on the bourses. Jhunjhunwala cited the case of DLF, saying the stock price plummeted to Rs 80 from Rs 1,300 per piece to illustrate the risks associated.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers readers' queries on stocks they own or want to buy.
Among the options being weighed are discounts on existing rentals, short-term deferrals, and 50 per cent waivers.
Real estate development major DLF Universal Limited, part of the Rs 1000 crore (Rs 10 billion) DLF group, would set up the country's largest information technology park in West Bengal, which would be ready within 24 months.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
The actor was in Noida to promote her new lipstick collection.
"The concrete actions are a stern indication that Government of India is making all out efforts to increase vaccine production in the country as well as attracting foreign vaccine manufacturers to supply the required vaccine doses for national Covid vaccination programme," the ministry in a statement.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
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