New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) India offers the highest real estate yields across every major asset class in the Asia Pacific region and recorded an 189 per cent year‑on‑year jump in investment volumes in the Q1 CY 2026, a report said on Thursday.
The report from CBRE said that cap rates in India consistently outpace every other market in the region across office, retail, logistics, hotels, and student housing sectors, in some cases by as much as 320 basis points.
India’s Q1 2026 investment volume rose to $2,295.19 million from $839.85 million a year earlier, second to only Singapore that led the region in investment volumes with a 364 per cent year‑on‑year increase.
"We are seeing genuine, broad-based demand across sectors driven by India's economic fundamentals, its growing corporate base, and a young, consumption-led population," said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO, India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE.
"Global investors who have been cautious till now are actively looking to deploy capital here, and we expect this momentum to strengthen further as more institutional-grade products come to market," he added.
The report highlighted sustained interest from domestic institutions, family offices, and global capital markets players as they increasingly allocate to Indian real estate through direct acquisitions, REITs, and structured debt instruments.
India is one of the top markets for real estate debt interest in Asia Pacific, signalling maturing capital markets, the report noted.
The report noted India’s Grade A office cap rates range from 7.50 per cent to 8.40 per cent in core central business district locations, compared to 3.25 per cent to 3.80 per cent in Singapore and 2 per cent to 3 per cent in Tokyo.
India is named among the top three preferred markets for Grade A office investment enquiries in Asia Pacific, alongside Singapore and Japan.
Student housing yields in India stood at 8.50 per cent–9 per cent, around 320 basis points higher than the next-highest market, Australia. The institutional-grade logistics cap rates in India stand at 7.15 per cent–7.75 per cent, around 115 basis points more than the second-ranked market, Vietnam with the rates of 6 per cent–7 per cent.
Higher cap rates in India compared to mature markets such as Japan, Singapore, or Korea reflect a still evolving market in institutional participation and price discovery, along with the natural yield premium of a high-growth emerging economy.
—IANS
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