Bengaluru is expected to be the most favoured property investment destination for NRIs, followed by Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai, Goa, Delhi and Dehradun. The Indian real estate market is expected to touch US$ 180 billion by 2020. The housing sector alone contributes 5-6 per cent to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the period FY08-20, the market size of this sector is expected to increase at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.2 per cent.
During 2015, PE funds invested about US$ 2.4 billion in the real estate sector, across 53 transactions compared US$ 1.3 billion across 57 transactions last year. Deal sizes have also increased in 2015, and residential projects both luxury and affordable have attracted a substantial amount of capital.
Mumbai is the best city in India for commercial real estate investment, with returns of 12-19 per cent likely in the next five years, followed by Bengaluru and Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR). Also, Delhi-NCR was the biggest office market in India with 110 million sq ft, out of which 88 million sq ft were occupied. Sectors such as IT and ITeS, retail, consulting and e-commerce have registered high demand for office space in recent times.
India's office space absorption stood at 35 million sq ft during 2015. The Smart City Project was recently announced by the Central Government, where there is a plan to build 100 smart cities, and this is a prime opportunity for the real estate industry.