Mumbai, Nov. 2 -- Foreign investors regained their position as the largest contributors to institutional investment in India's real estate sector during the July-September quarter of 2026, ending four consecutive quarters in which domestic investors led capital deployment. Total institutional investment rose 20 per cent year-on-year and 12 per cent quarter-on-quarter to $2.1 bn, according to Cushman & Wakefield's Capital MarketBeat report.
Foreign investors deployed $1.4 bn during the quarter, accounting for 68 per cent of total investment. Domestic institutions contributed $700 mn, or 32 per cent. Foreign investment increased 64 per cent from the previous quarter and 134 per cent from a year earlier, while domestic investment declined 34 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 39 per cent year-on-year.
Institutional investment reached $5.5 bn during the first nine months of 2026, an 11 per cent increase from the corresponding period last year. Domestic investors accounted for 52 per cent of year-to-date investments, compared with 48 per cent for foreign investors. Domestic capital deployment rose 15 per cent year-on-year, while foreign investment grew 8 per cent.
Data centres were the largest recipients of institutional real estate capital in Q3, attracting 52 per cent of total investment and moving up from second place in the previous quarter. Demand for digital infrastructure, including facilities supporting artificial intelligence workloads, cloud computing and data localisation, continued to support investor interest in the segment.
Hospitality assets accounted for 15 per cent of quarterly investment, followed by offices at 9 per cent. Transactions spanning multiple cities represented 76 per cent of investment activity, while Mumbai attracted 9 per cent and Delhi-NCR 6 per cent. Private equity investors dominated deployment with 88 per cent of activity, while real estate investment trusts accounted for the remaining 12 per cent.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.