Realty sector gets USD 1.6 bn institutional fund in Jan-Mar, down 52 pc from Dec quarter: C&W

Real estate consultant Cushman Wakefield on Tuesday said that domestic investors infused USD 1.21 billion during January-March 2026, as against 0.75 billion in the year-ago period and USD 2.71 billion in the preceding quarter.

Institutional investments in real estate rose 26 per cent annually to USD 1.6 billion during January-March, but fell 52 per cent from the preceding quarter amid the West Asia conflict, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Investments stood at USD 1.27 billion in January-March 2025 and USD 3.35 billion during the October-December period of last year. Real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield on Tuesday said that domestic investors infused USD 1.21 billion during January-March 2026, as against 0.75 billion in the year-ago period and USD 2.71 billion in the preceding quarter. Foreign investments stood at USD 0.39 billion in the first quarter of this calendar year, a decline from USD 0.52 billion in January-March 2025 and 0.61 billion in October-December last year. ''Domestic investors have now accounted for a larger share of institutional investments in four of the last five quarters, underscoring a sustained rebalancing of capital flows. ''At a time when foreign capital remains sensitive to global macroeconomic and geopolitical developments, the increasing depth and consistency of domestic capital is helping provide stability and continuity to investment activity,'' the consultant said. Somy Thomas, Executive Managing Director - Capital Markets, Cushman & Wakefield, noted that domestic capital has been particularly active in the office segment, and this momentum is likely to build further. ''At the same time, the consistent performance of REITs has reinforced investor confidence in income-generating real estate, while relatively muted returns in equity markets have prompted a rebalancing of capital towards more stable, yield-driven assets,'' Thomas said. At a city level, Delhi-NCR garnered 28 per cent of the quarterly investment in Q1-26, followed by Chennai and Bengaluru with 17 per cent and 14 per cent shares, respectively. Commenting on the report, Bengaluru-based realty firm Sanjeevini Group founder and Chairman Umesh Gowda H A said, ''The geographical spread of institutional investment, with Bengaluru accounting for nearly 14 per cent, underscores not just the city's strong fundamentals and its position as a preferred destination for long-term capital but the overall resilience of the real estate sector.'' The continued inflow of domestic capital is helping sustain project pipelines, support new developments, and maintain pricing discipline even amid global uncertainties, Gowda added.