Foreign investors are back: India real estate draws record $9.5 bn in Q3

India’s real estate market attracted a record $9.5 billion in equity capital in the July-September quarter of 2026, more than twice the investment recorded in the same quarter last year, as foreign and institutional investors increased their exposure to the sector.

According to CBRE’s India Market Monitor – Investments Q3 2026, the quarter’s inflows were more than double the $4.4 billion recorded in Q3 2025 and significantly higher than the $3.8 billion invested in Q2 2026. The $9.5-billion quarterly inflow was the highest on record, according to CBRE.

“”This is a landmark quarter for India’s real estate capital markets,” said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO, India, South-East Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE. “Global investors have returned with conviction, and institutional capital is now flowing well beyond offices and land into data centres. It reflects how deep and diverse India’s real estate market has become, and we expect this confidence to carry through the rest of the year.”

The surge also means that India’s real estate sector has already attracted $18.6 billion during the first nine months of 2026, nearly twice the corresponding period of 2025 and above the $14.2 billion recorded during the whole of 2025.

Where is the money going?

The latest investment cycle is not being driven by a single property segment.

Data centres, built-up office assets and land/development sites together accounted for nearly 91% of Q3 2026 inflows, according to CBRE. Data centres in particular saw a multi-fold increase in investment compared with both the previous quarter and the year-ago period.

CBRE’s earlier 2026 outlook had identified data centres, along with flexible workspaces, healthcare, hospitality and living platforms, as alternative segments attracting increasing capital. Its September mid-year outlook said data-centre capacity expansion was being supported by digitalisation, AI-led demand and capital commitments.

For investors, this means that the institutional real estate story is increasingly about income-generating built-up assets as well as infrastructure-linked and development opportunities.

Foreign capital makes a comeback

Foreign investors made a significant comeback during the quarter, accounting for about 59% of total inflows. U.S. investors contributed 90% of foreign capital in Q3 2026, followed by investors from Canada, Singapore and Japan.

The return of global capital was accompanied by wider participation from institutional investors, particularly towards data centres and built-up office assets. Institutional investors accounted for nearly 79% of overall inflows in Q3 2026 (up from about 28% in the previous quarter). Developers followed with a share of about 13%.

Mumbai, followed by Delhi-NCR and Chennai, accounted for a cumulative share of about 53% of investment inflows during the quarter. Multi-city transactions also contributed about 15% of total investments.

The report added that about 72% of total capital deployed in site/land acquisitions went towards office, residential, and data centre developments. The rest was committed to mixed-use, hotel, retail, and industrial & logistics (I&L) projects.

In addition to the quarter’s capital infusion, investment and development platforms totalling about $1.6 billion were established across core and emerging real estate sectors.

“India’s real estate investment landscape continues to strengthen, with investors deploying capital across both established and emerging asset classes. Global and domestic investors are showing clear intent to grow their portfolios in the country. We expect this momentum to sustain in the coming quarters, supported by a mature and increasingly diverse capital pool,” said Gaurav Kumar, Managing Director & Co-Head, Capital Markets, India, CBRE.

What does the $18.6-billion nine-month figure mean?

The nine-month number is particularly significant.

India attracted $18.6 billion between January and September 2026, compared with $14.2 billion during the entire previous calendar year, according to the latest CBRE data.

That means the sector has already surpassed last year’s annual investment level with three months of 2026 still remaining.

For context, CBRE had reported that India’s real estate sector attracted $14.3 billion in 2025, an increase of about 25% over 2024. Land/development sites accounted for more than 46% of the year’s inflows, followed by built-up offices at about 28%.

The 2026 data therefore points to both a larger pool of capital and a broader range of assets attracting institutional money.