Sanjeev Kathuria, Founder & CEO, Torbit Realty 

Team Torbit has been consolidating events and policies throughout 2025 to understand and share what is in store for real estate in 2026 .Post-Covid, real estate industry saw massive interest from consumers and we saw all sectors firing on all fronts. Prices were increasing with every launch and   signboards of ‘sold out’ appeared on the very first day of the launch. Madness- yes indeed ! However, towards the end of 2025, we saw massive correction , with Q3 sales down 20%, endorsing the old saying-what goes up, must come down. 

Residential Real Estate

 Torbit research shows that in 2026, metros will see fewer launches and  slow sales.  Prices will not fail but with payment plans (20:80, 25:25 :25:25) and some subsidy on maintenance, registry cost, fittings, developers  will  sweeten the deals to lure  customers.  This is  as good as discounting the price.

We will further see a significant fall in sales volume, especially in premium housing segment due to  various reasons viz affordability constraints, fear of job losses, no or little increment specially in IT sector and reverse migration from Tier-1 cities  with IT and data centres moving to Tier-2 cities. Luxury housing projects with small inventories i.e 100-150 units will sail through as founders/ Co-Founders  and senior management  of startups who made debut in stock market, will be the new generation buyers. Besides, top executives – CEOs/ CFOs etc of IT companies , banking , chemical and metal industry will invest in these ubits.   

Group housing, floors and single-family town homes in Tier-2 cities will attract buyers from metros to relocate here , besides attracting local buyers. Prices will keep increasing , in turn providing an  opportunity to investors to make quick money.  Transactions in plotted developments will slow down while farm houses will do exceptionally well. In short, Tier-2 cities will be the true winners in residential real estate market in 2026- third year in a row, thanks to rapid infrastructure development , growing metro connectivity and  airports accessibility , triggering  residential  boom.Sonepat is  a true  Tier-2 winner in Delhi- NCR. 

Agriculture land in Tier-3 cities will also present a good investment opportunity from 3–5-year perspective.

Commercial Real Estate

  Office : 

Except for  Grade A spaces in cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and  Gurgaon  office real estate  will see low space absorption and lease rentals will soften. Data Centres, Co-Working Spaces or Shared Spaces will however be the bright spots.Overall, office market will be slow. 

   Mall  & High Street Retail

Small  size malls will  need rethinking as retail gets reimagined . Large shopping malls of 1-1.5 million square feet size, will sustain but others will need to renegotiate brands.    High street retail will do very well especially in metros & also on highways.All in all, large format shopping malls in metros, high street retail in metros, Tier-2 cities and on highways  will do well.

Warehousing

 Warehousing will continue  to be on a strong wicket all through 2026.Industrial parks, smart cities will be in spotlight in  2026 as we move on the path of ‘Make in India, Make for the World’.

In Conclusion

 * Housing demand to remain weak throughout 2026.Tier -2 cities will however turn  to be  the saviours.

 *   Office space absorption to be lukewarm with exception of class “A” office space in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai.

*  Shopping malls in metro to see stress and  lease rentals may need to be renegotiated. However, large scale malls will sustain.

*    Data centres will do exceptionally well.

*  Warehousing will be on a multi- year growth trajectory.

*   REITs will tone up in a very big way.

*  Tier-2 cities to present  various potential pockets of investment opportunity.

*   Industrial parks will flourish in Tier -2 cities.

*  Agricultural land in Tier -2  cities will have good potential.