Net leasing of office space in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai declined sharply in the January–March period, slipping 51% to 3.28 million square feet, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield. The fall comes against 6.74 million square feet recorded in the same period last year, with lower fresh supply cited as a key factor. “Sustained demand for quality office spaces is expected to exert upward pressure on Grade-A rents over the coming quarters,” the report added. At the same time, Mumbai reported a 38% drop in net leasing during the quarter, down to 1.77 million square feet from 2.87 million square feet a year earlier. Delhi-NCR witnessed a steeper fall of 61%, with net leasing shrinking to 1.51 million square feet from 3.87 million square feet in the corresponding period of the previous year. Fresh office supply during the January–March period stood at 1.8 million square feet in Delhi-NCR and 0.89 million square feet in Mumbai. Across India’s eight major office markets, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata and Ahmedabad, net leasing declined 24% to 11.51 million square feet from 15.08 million square feet a year ago. Net absorption, which reflects the net change in occupied office space and is a key indicator of demand in the real estate sector, showed a broad slowdown across markets. Despite the fall in leasing activity, Delhi-NCR recorded a 2–5% quarter-on-quarter rise in overall rentals during January–March 2026. The region also saw a year-on-year rental increase of 6–9%, with Gurugram’s central business district leading growth at 12–15 per cent over the same period, according to Cushman & Wakefield. In Mumbai, stock-weighted average rents rose 1.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the January–March period to Rs 171 per sq ft, supported by demand in the Andheri-Kurla Road and Thane-Belapur Road corridors.
