Bengaluru leads as India office leasing hits a record 61.06 million sq ft in nine months

The record, and what drove it

India's office gross leasing reached 61.06 million sq ft in the first nine months of 2026, the strongest January to September performance on record, according to JLL data reported on 26 October 2026. The rebound was concentrated in the July to September quarter, when gross leasing rose to 23.17 million sq ft after deals delayed in the second quarter were finally signed.

Net absorption, a separate measure of occupied space, also reached a record for the period at 41.96 million sq ft, according to the JLL data. JLL India chief executive Radha Dhir was reported as saying the third quarter showed what happens when confidence returns to the office market, with occupiers backing growth plans with firm commitments. These figures are JLL's reported totals, not independently audited counts, and they describe leasing activity, not rent levels or construction completions.

Which cities led the demand

Bengaluru continued to dominate, accounting for 33.4% of third-quarter gross leasing and 28.0% of the nine-month total. In the third quarter alone, Bengaluru recorded 7.74 million sq ft of gross leasing, ahead of Hyderabad at 4.55 million sq ft, Delhi NCR at 4.19 million sq ft and Mumbai at 2.87 million sq ft.

For the nine months, Hyderabad followed Bengaluru in third-quarter share at 19.6%, ahead of Delhi NCR at 18.1% and Mumbai at 12.4%, while all four cities plus Pune posted year-on-year growth. On net absorption, Bengaluru led with 13.12 million sq ft, or 31.3%, followed by Hyderabad at 8.97 million sq ft, Delhi NCR at 6.07 million sq ft and Pune at 5.83 million sq ft. The spread matters for readers outside Bengaluru: demand is now more widely dispersed across major markets, rather than concentrated in a single city.

Global Capability Centres, flex space and vacancies

Global Capability Centres, the offshore units multinationals set up for technology, finance and analytics work, were the defining driver. They leased 26.2 million sq ft in the nine months, up 30.6% year on year and accounting for 42.9% of total leasing, which JLL noted was already 84% of their full-year leasing in 2025, itself a record year. The technology sector led third-quarter leasing with a 25.6% share, closely followed by banking, financial services and insurance at 25.3%, which recorded its highest quarterly volume ever.

Flex operators also reached a record 13.83 million sq ft across the top seven cities in the nine months, reflecting a shift towards flexible workspace strategies. Despite the record absorption, vacancy across the top seven cities rose marginally by 30 basis points quarter on quarter to 14.8%, as 43.7 million sq ft of new supply came on stream, the highest for a comparable period since the pandemic. Mumbai and Delhi NCR, however, saw vacancy fall to their lowest levels in 16 and 15 years respectively. JLL expects 2026 leasing to match 2025's historic levels, with volumes potentially reaching 100 million sq ft annually over the next two to three years, but that is an expectation, not a confirmed outcome.

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