The Office Of The World: India fuels 60% of Asia’s demand

Defying Global Uncertainty

In a global real estate landscape often characterised by uncertainty and cautious forecasting, India has emerged as a distinct outlier.

Anshul Jain, Chief Executive for India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa at Cushman & Wakefield, outlined a bullish future for the region in an exclusive interview with Rodrigo Branchini, Partner & Managing Director APAC at the GRI Institute, during the GRI Global Summit in Abu Dhabi.

Managing a diverse portfolio, Jain noted that India has unmistakably become the "jewel in the crown" of these high-growth markets due to its exceptional performance over recent years.

While many developed economies grapple with sluggish returns, Jain points to a 6.5% GDP growth rate and strong fundamentals across office, residential, and data centre sectors as evidence that the market is offering a unique window of opportunity.

India’s Office Market Outperformance

While the narrative in the US and Europe has been dominated by the struggle to bring employees back to the desk, India has charted a completely different course by absorbing approximately 60% of Asia's total office demand. This staggering figure, which hovers around 90 million square feet, led a recent McKinsey report to label the country "the office of the world".

Jain attributes this swift post-COVID recovery to structural and cultural nuances, such as younger demographics and joint family systems, which mean the workforce thrives on the social connectivity of a physical workplace.

However, this demand is not indiscriminate. Jain highlights a clear preference for premium assets, noting that while demand for triple-A buildings remains robust, poor-quality stock struggles to find relevance without significant repositioning.

The Middle East Opportunity

The growth story extends beyond India, as Jain views the Middle East - specifically the UAE and Saudi Arabia - as the next frontier for significant opportunity.

A distinctive shift in perception was central to his takeaways from the summit in Abu Dhabi, where the region expressed an ambition to evolve from being merely a "capital of capital" to a "capital of human capital".

This transition is being driven by deliberate policy changes to attract global talent through welcoming legal and regulatory environments, alongside Saudi Arabia's massive modernisation drive backed by heavy government investment.

Despite the optimism, Jain advises a degree of circumspection because these remain emerging markets where investors must be prepared for cyclical volatility even as the long-term direction trends upward.

The Capital Shift

A significant evolution is also taking place in the capital markets, where the narrative previously defined by global institutional heavyweights such as Blackstone and Brookfield is shifting toward the institutionalisation of domestic wealth.

Local investors and family offices are increasingly pooling resources into formal, SEBI-registered private equity funds rather than buying real estate assets directly.

Cushman & Wakefield is actively capitalising on this trend through a joint venture with wealth management firm Nuvama, an initiative aiming to raise half a billion dollars for commercial office deployment that signals domestic capital is ready to compete on the main stage.

The Data Edge

Underpinning these market movements is a radical rethinking of data strategy through Cushman & Wakefield's AI-enabled centre in Kochi. Staffed by data scientists navigating a "massive data lake," the firm's goal has shifted from merely reporting past events to predicting future trends.

By using AI engines to identify these trends ahead of time, the firm is moving toward generating sharper, more precise insights that serve as necessary tools for clients navigating a market that moves as fast as India’s.

The Look Ahead

For Jain, the outlook is undeniably positive as the convergence of demographic dividends, economic growth, and structural reforms ensures that, in his words, "everything is falling in the right direction" for real estate in the region.

Whether it is the sheer volume of office absorption in India or the rise of formal private equity funds fueling domestic investment, the engines of growth are firing to create what Jain describes as a "great time to be in India today".

Watch the full interview with Anshul Jain here.