Hyderabad records 12.7 mn sft of total leasable area under REITs

The city could witness an additional 1.8 million sft of new REIT leasable area.

Hyderabad: Hyderabad has recorded 12.7 million sft of total leasable area under Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) as on September 30, recording 0.79 per cent year-on-year growth from 12.6 million sft as of September 30, 2021.

Hyderabad is amongst the four Indian cities that will witness new REIT developments soon. The city could witness an additional 1.8 million sft of new REIT leasable area. Additionally, according to listed REITs’ expansion plans, the current leasable area is expected to grow by more than 10 per cent in the coming quarters.

In a recent study on REITs by Windmill Capital, a wholly-owned subsidiary of smallcase Technologies, it was found that India recorded 6.85 per cent YoY growth in the total leasable area of listed REITs from 87.6 million sft as of September 30, 2021 to 93.6 million sft as of September 30, 2022.

REITs have emerged as a strong investment alternative, due to market volatility and inflationary pressures which have led investors to view REITs as an asset diversification strategy. This is also validated in an upcoming report titled ‘Rise of the Indian Retail Investor’ by Zinnov Management Consulting & smallcase which indicates that retail investors allocate up to 2 per cent of their investment portfolio in REITS as compared to 5 years ago.

Sharing a perspective on REITs, Vasanth Kamath, Founder & CEO, smallcase said, “India’s REITs market is poised for accelerated growth as both investors and sponsors are drawing confidence from evolving regulatory framework, transparency, institutionalised ownership and ability to deliver robust returns. Regulations have also encouraged retail investors with the reduction in minimum subscription (from Rs 50,000 to Rs 15,000). This increases the liquidity for the entire REITs market and allows greater participation from young retail investors.”