India’s land market reaches $176 billion revenue potential

There is a revenue potential of $176 billion (16.7 lakh crore) in India’s land markets — roughly 22x the revenue of India’s top 10 listed real estate companies by market cap in FY26, according to a survey by Cushman & Wakefield.

In an attempt to analyse the impact of development, Cushman & Wakefield tracks 18,158 acres of land transactions across 33 Indian cities between 2021 and Q1 2026, covering 880+ deals. It positions land as “the new gold” for developers and investors, with an indicative development value of 16.7 lakh crore and ~1,398 million sq. ft. of buildup potential.

India’s urban population is projected to grow from 555 million (2026) to nearly 600 million by 2036 — equivalent to 3-4 new Bengaluru-sized cities. This is supported by sustained central government capex (above 10 trillion for three years, projected 12.2 trillion in FY27) through initiatives like Gati Shakti and Bharatmala, alongside institutional investors deploying $8 billion annually. Policy reforms, particularly the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (99.8% land record digitisation, 97.4% cadastral mapping), have improved transparency and reduced transaction friction.

Annual transacted acreage grew nearly sevenfold, from 813 acres (2021) to 6,181 acres (2025) — a 66% CAGR, with 1,194 acres already transacted in Q1 2026. Tier-I cities hold a 71% overall share, but Tier-II markets are rising sharply — from 2% of annual volume in 2021 to 67% in Q1 2026 (partly driven by Visakhapatnam’s data-centre-related activity).

Average deal sizes are diverging: Tier-I parcels compressed from 21 to 10 acres (2021–Q1 2026), while Tier-II parcels expanded from 8 to 53 acres, enabling large-scale townships and industrial parks.

West and South India account for ~70% of transacted acreage, driven by capital outlays in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

Residential sector dominates (43% of acreage), anchored by strong housing demand and a growing shift toward plotted development (54% of total residential acreage, up sharply from 219 acres in 2021 to 1,440 in 2025).

Logistics & Industrial (L&I) accounts for ~23 per cent, fuelled by e-commerce/quick-commerce expansion and PLI-driven manufacturing.

Mixed-use represents ~18 per cent, clustering along corridors like Pune’s Balewadi-Mahalunge and MMR’s Alibaug-Khalapur belt.

Office and Data Centre shares remain smaller but are growing fast in absolute terms — office transacted acreage rose fivefold (76 to 384 acres) and L&I nearly 13-fold between 2021-22 and 2024-25.

Micro-market analysis (MMR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad) shows core urban areas favour residential/commercial uses, while peripheries absorb mixed-use and industrial/logistics formats.

Outright sales still dominate (>60 per cent of acreage), reflecting reliance on upfront capital amid limited land financing. However, Joint Venture/Joint Development (JV/JD) structures are the fastest-growing format — JV/JD deal count rose from 11 (2021) to 42 (2025). These partnership models reduce upfront capital needs, share risk, and improve IRR/exit flexibility. JV/JD activity is dominated by residential (49 per cent of JV/JD acreage), especially in Tier-I cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru where land price escalation makes outright purchases less viable. Redevelopment is highlighted as a distinct Mumbai-specific trend, with over 300 acres unlocked since 2021 and 25,000+ buildings (worth ~30,000 crore) awaiting redevelopment.

The report frames India’s land market as entering a structurally deeper, more geographically diversified, and partnership-oriented phase. Success increasingly depends on collaborative ecosystems (developers, landowners, capital providers, regulators) rather than balance-sheet strength alone, with development activity concentrating along infrastructure corridors rather than broad city-wide sprawl.

I have inherited family assets and my sister does not want a share in the property. How do we ensure legal formalities to inherit the property. Franklin Joseph, Sharjah.

Your sister will have to execute a release deed or a settlement deed in your favour. The legal document is of course subject to stamp duty and registration charges. You can also apply for a legal heir certificate and the tehsildar, after conducting an enquiry will issue a certificate mentioning the names of legal heirs who succeeded to the estate. With your sister’s release deed and legal heir certificate, you are in a legally sound position to either retain or sell the property at any stage.

I bought agricultural land while in India as a resident. As an NRI, can I now gift or sell the land? Are there any restrictions and does it need any approval? Avinash K Rana, Dubai.

You can gift or sell only to a person resident in India and who is a citizen of India. Foreign national of non-Indian origin resident outside India would need prior approval of Reserve Bank to sell agricultural land/plantation property/ farm house in India.