India stays in top 10 global investment destinations for land and development projects

New Delhi: India continues to be in the top 10 global cross-border investment destinations for land and development sites, a report showed on Wednesday.

The country is emerging as a key investment destination within Asia Pacific, driven by strong fundamentals, a maturing real estate market, and growing interest in land and development assets.

Favourable policy measures and continued infrastructure push are further enhancing the investment climate and reinforcing India’s appeal to global and regional capital, said the report from Colliers.

While Japan and Australia ranked among the top 10 global cross-border capital destinations for standing assets, India continued to feature prominently at the seventh place in the top 10 global cross-border capital destinations for land and development sites.

“Institutional investments in Indian real estate stood at a strong $1.3 billion in Q1 2025 — up 31 per cent year-on-year — underscoring the sector’s resilience and investor confidence. Global and regional capital continues to flow steadily into India, particularly in land and development assets, supported by a maturing market and diverse capital deployment opportunities,” said Badal Yagnik, Chief Executive Officer, Colliers India.

Increasing global investor participation in the residential segment, along with a growing appetite for emerging segments such as life sciences and data centres, will further strengthen real estate investment in India.

“At the same time, strong demand fundamentals, robust supply pipeline, and expanding avenues such as development platforms and alternative investment structures will continue to present compelling opportunities in commercial as well as industrial & warehousing segments,” Yagnik added.

Foreign investors accounted for nearly 40 per cent of the total institutional inflows during Q1 2025, reaffirming their long-term interest in Indian real estate.

While office assets remain a key focus for foreign investors, residential investments are gaining ground, driven by rising demand, healthy returns, and a positive domestic outlook.

“This diversification signals a maturing market where foreign capital is increasingly aligning with India’s evolving real estate landscape. Looking ahead, consecutive repo rate cuts have brought the benchmark lending rate to 5.5 per cent, the lowest in three years,” said Vimal Nadar, National Director & Head of Research, Colliers India.

This is likely to further boost investor sentiment and facilitate greater capital deployment across real estate asset classes, particularly residential segment in the near to medium term, he added.

IANS