NCR records 7.2 million sq ft office leasing in H1 2025
Knight Frank India
's latest report.
Office Market: Strongest Leasing Momentum Ever Recorded in NCR
NCR's office leasing rose by 27% year-on-year, hitting an all-time high, underlining the region's growing importance as a commercial hub. Gurugram, often seen as NCR's corporate epicentre, accounted for an overwhelming 65% of the total office leasing during the period—a sharp rise of 900 basis points compared to the same period last year.
Notably, the demand wasn't just driven by India-facing enterprises. Global Capability Centres (GCCs)—companies that provide support services to global operations—ramped up their share of office leasing in NCR to 31% in H1 2025, equal to that of domestic firms. This indicates a rising confidence among global firms in NCR's talent pool and infrastructure readiness.
The average rental value for office space in the region jumped 8% year-on-year to ₹93.5 per sq ft per month. Delhi's Central Business District remained the costliest, commanding rentals between ₹220 and ₹390 per sq ft per month. In Gurugram, Golf Course Road and Cyber City continued to dominate both demand and pricing.
About 4.1 million sq ft of new supply was added across NCR during the same period, but the supply-demand gap for quality Grade A offices remains evident, prompting upward pressure on rents.
Residential Market: Luxury Segment Shines Amid Overall Dip
On the residential side, while overall sales and launches dipped slightly, the market story was driven by rising aspirations and a growing appetite for premium living.
Housing sales across NCR stood at 26,795 units in H1 2025, marking an 8% year-on-year drop. New launches also saw a decline of 17%, totalling 25,233 units. Yet, within this subdued environment, the luxury housing segment recorded unprecedented activity.
Sales of homes priced above ₹2 crore surged, accounting for 57% of total sales—up from 43% in H1 2024. Even more striking was the growth in ultra-luxury homes priced above ₹50 crore, where sales increased by a staggering 2,550% year-on-year. These marquee transactions were largely concentrated in Gurugram, reaffirming its position as NCR's high-end residential capital.
The city alone contributed 51% to total housing sales and 55% to fresh supply, with sectors along Golf Course Extension Road, Southern Peripheral Road, and Dwarka Expressway witnessing heightened traction.
Noida and Greater Noida together formed 30% of NCR's home sales, bolstered by infrastructure upgrades such as the ongoing work on the Noida International Airport in Jewar and metro expansions. The increased demand in these regions was predominantly in the mid to upper-mid segments.
Residential prices across NCR averaged ₹5,535 per sq ft in H1 2025, reflecting a healthy 14% year-on-year increase. While the premium and luxury segments gained momentum, the affordable housing category (₹25–50 lakh) saw sales drop by 37%—a result of price escalations, land cost pressures, and tighter home loan dynamics.
Shift in Buyer Sentiment and Developer Strategy
What's emerging clearly is the buyer shift towards larger homes with better amenities, especially post-pandemic. Developers, in response, are increasingly launching high-ticket projects tailored to aspirational urban families and NRIs.
Knight Frank's findings reflect a maturing market where both end-users and investors are focusing on long-term value. The rise of demand in studio apartments, branded residences, and gated communities equipped with health and wellness features also signal changing buyer preferences.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Nitin Gadkari's app-cab reform: Drivers to get care, customer is the king
In India's booming app-based cab economy, often the only thing that matters for the consumer is not the technology or the car but the most-ignored cog in the wheel: the driver. Whether you step out grinning or groaning from an Ola/Uber ride depends on that crucial factor—how was the driver?Now, the Union ministry of road transport and highways, under Nitin Gadkari, seems to have finally accepted this elementary truth more than ever before. The newly revised Motor Vehicles Aggregator Guidelines 2025, published recently, take into account mental health reviews for drivers as well as how much their work schedules can be stretched, among other things. For an industry defined by long hours, fickle pay and frequent confrontational customers, it can be a game new guidelines, revised from an earlier set in 2020, say drivers will also get better insurance cover: Rs 15 lakh as term insurance and Rs 7.5 lakh for health, a big jump from the earlier Rs 10 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, respectively. It's a long overdue correction for a workforce that hasn't had access to the safety nets available to employees in the more formal bottomline: when drivers are safer, healthier and more secure, they are better able to serve customers; the roads get safer too. This has been underpinned by a growing acceptance within government that it is the people, as opposed to the infrastructure, that shape passengers' experience. That said, the refreshed and forward-looking 2025 regulations are not exactly mandatory. Transport may be on the Concurrent List of the Indian Constitution, but there's precious little the Centre can do to compel a state into legislating on transport matters. So it would be for each state government to either accept or adjust the recommendations. BJP-ruled states will probably fall in line, but others may hesitate, stall or even ignore the changes. It is, therefore, a wishlist with all the good there are several good upgrades in the guidelines as well, such as the way data is to be treated by the aggregators, as per the new Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. Aggregators are now required to keep for a finite time—mininum three months, maximum two years—data generated by the Indian app on Indian servers and in compliance with the Indian data laws. It is part of a shift away from casual data-governance practices that used to be the norm, especially in the gig also a green nudge. Previously, states had the option to offer incentives for electric vehicles purchased within aggregator fleets. The rules now require action: at least 5 per cent of an aggregator's fleet must be electric within the first year of the notice, and that number must double in the second year. It's an aggressive play in a sector that has been slow to see EV adoption, largely because of the erratic charging infrastructure and higher out-of-pocket costs. Also, the demise of BluSmart has been a may finally have some bite. For instance, customers can now know the break-up of fares before booking their rides, ending opaque pricing that often left riders in the dark. If it takes the driver more than five minutes past promised time, riders will have a clear right to cancel the ride without penalty. Also, passengers are meant to be compensated if a driver cancels for no good training and safety protocols are improved as well. The old guidelines addressed gender sensitisation only. But the new ones say drivers have to learn about sexual harassment and how to protect the vulnerable—children and seniors and women. The guidelines stress there should be a clear way to escalate complaints in the the gulf between policy and practice remains wide. Aggregator platforms, known for finding ways to sidestep worker protections in the gig economy in the name of technological neutrality, are likely to slow down on implementing the more stringent rules. And unless state governments have the political will for enforcement, these may well remain on all in all, by making the driver the centerpiece of the ride-hailing equation, the government is signalling a new norm. While it could still be a bumpy ride, a lot of the potholes look set to be filled should the states play to India Today Magazine- EndsTune InMust Watch
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
How Karnataka's iconic Mysore Sandal Soap overshot targets, clocked highest ever sales
(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated July 14, 2025)In mid-May, one of Karnataka's best-known cultural brands, Mysore Sandal Soap, found itself in a bit of lather. Pro-Kannada activists were upset that Karnataka Soaps & Detergents Ltd (KS&DL), the state-owned company that manufactures the iconic 109-year-old soap, had chosen actor Tamannaah Bhatia as its brand ambassador instead of a Kannadiga celebrity. But even as it hastened to defuse the row, KS&DL had much to thank the controversy for. The firm clocked its best-ever sales for the month of May at Rs 186 crore, a 24 per cent bump from the target of Rs 150 The soap maker has been on a winning streak in the past few years, with annual sales almost doubling since 2020-21 to Rs 1,780 crore in 2024-25; net profit grew almost four-fold from Rs 113 crore to Rs 415 crore in the same period. Ramping up production and online marketing played a big role in this, says its MD, Prashanth India accounts for over 80 per cent of the sales for KS&DL, with Andhra Pradesh the biggest market. Hence, the push into other regions, especially the north. It's also why 'pan-India star' Tamannaah was signed up. KS&DL has set itself a target of Rs 5,000 crore in annual turnover by 2028. It is investing Rs 250 crore in a new plant at Vijayapura in north Karnataka and also eyeing diversification into new products. 'We are taking it nationaland even international in the future,' says M.B. Patil, Karnataka's minister of large and medium industries. 'Then perhaps we'll need a Hollywood celebrity to endorse us,' he to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
India ready to sign deals that protect its interests, says Piyush Goyal
India is negotiating trade agreements with countries on its own terms, and 'national interest will always be supreme', Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal asserted on Friday, even as the country's trade negotiators returned from Washington after extensive nearly week-long parleys with their US counterparts in a bid to seal an interim bilateral trade deal. An official team led by India's chief negotiator, Department of Commerce Special Secretary Rajesh Agrawal, was in the US from June 27, and had extended its stay till Thursday to resolve key issues of contention between the two countries. However, India hasn't signalled the finalisation of an interim deal yet, and the 90-day pause on US' reciprocal tariffs expires on July 9. If an agreement is not firmed up by then, Indian exports to the US could be laden with a 26 per cent duty as per US President Donald Trump's country-specific reciprocal tariff plan unveiled on April 2. India is pushing hard to avoid the reciprocal tariff levies, while securing lower tariffs for labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather and automobile components. Washington has signalled that there is unlikely to be any relief on the additional tariffs on steel and aluminium products, a government source said. The US had imposed a 25 per cent import duty on steel and aluminium products in March, which was doubled to 50 per cent in June. 'Negotiations are not contingent on any date… Our interest is that we should get a sustained preference over other competing countries in areas of our interest. If we get that, we will be happy to do a deal,' the official source said. During the latest round of talks, the Indian side is learnt to have hardened its stance on issues related to the 'sensitive' agriculture sector and reiterated, as it had earlier, that agriculture and dairy remain major 'red lines' for India's trade negotiations with the US. Earlier this week, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said: 'There will have to be a give and take. Just like the US or people in the US may have views about India, people in India have views about the US too. We'll have to find a kind of meeting ground. I believe it's possible.' On the other hand, officials from the US administration, including President Trump, have been saying over the past few days that a trade deal with India will be finalised soon.
