India’s real estate market has made notable progress in transparency, strengthening its position with global investors. However, the country will need further improvements in regulation, planning, data and technology to make the most of growing opportunities in areas such as AI and data centres, according to JLL’s 2026 Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI).
India was the most improved market in Asia-Pacific in the latest index and moved five places to 26th globally, entering the top 30 for the first time. The improvement comes as investment activity and institutional participation in Indian real estate continue to expand.
India leads Asia-Pacific in transparency gains
The 2026 GRETI tracked 88 countries and territories, of which two-thirds showed significant improvement in transparency over the last two years. Half of the top 10 most-improved markets are from the Asia-Pacific region, led by India, followed by Vietnam, South Korea, Australia and Thailand.
India has also shown a consistent trend of improvement over a longer period, being the fourth most-improved market over the last decade and third over 20 years, according to JLL.
The improvement has been accompanied by stronger cross-border investment. India attracted $8.1 billion in cross-border real estate investment, its highest level in 20 years, while transaction volumes in India and Vietnam reached record levels in the latest period.
The country’s regulatory and legal standing has also improved. According to JLL data reported alongside the 2026 index, India moved from 37th to 19th globally in the regulatory and legal parameters. The expansion of RERA, FDI liberalisation and digitisation of land records through initiatives such as NUDM, NAKSHA and DILRMP have contributed to the progress.
Data centres bring a new test for the market
The next phase of India’s real estate growth is increasingly linked to digital infrastructure. JLL has identified AI and data centres as an important opportunity, but one that will require regulatory and market frameworks to develop alongside demand.
India’s data centre inventory stood at 1,637 MW by mid-2026, with another 4,317 MW under construction and a planned pipeline of 15,000 MW. India’s data centre expansion is also creating new requirements for specialised land and supporting infrastructure. JLL expects capacity to increase from around 1.6 GW to 6 GW by 2029, with significant investment required to support the expansion.
Globally, data centres and other alternative sectors are emerging as a significant part of the real estate investment landscape. JLL said the alternative sectors such as data centres, manufacturing and infrastructure now make up 20 percent of global direct transaction volumes, twice their share a decade ago.
For India, the scale of the opportunity also places greater importance on reliable data, energy infrastructure, planning systems and regulatory clarity.
Land and planning remain areas of concern
Although India has made progress, it has identified a number of areas where improvement is needed to increase transparency. Land pooling mechanisms are at an early stage, and city-level Master Plans are still being processed and approved at various levels.
Contract enforcement also remains uneven across jurisdictions, with dispute resolution capable of taking considerable time.
The report also points to the need for wider use of GIS-based digitisation and drone mapping. These tools have been introduced in pilot locations, but JLL said their broader adoption would be important for creating more consistent and measurable planning outcomes.
These issues matter beyond government planning. For developers and investors, clearer land records, predictable approvals and faster dispute resolution can reduce uncertainty during property transactions and development.
Transparency needs to reach more markets and assets
JLL’s findings also highlight a gap between India’s leading real estate markets and its secondary cities.
Standardised data rooms for rent rolls, CRM-based financial analysis and digitised documentation are still concentrated largely in major gateway cities. Data availability and depth also vary across secondary markets, making it harder to achieve the same level of market visibility across the country.
Building-level information is another area where further progress is needed. JLL has pointed to gaps in property-level energy consumption disclosures, climate-risk reporting, resilience planning and building performance standards.
India’s sustainability and listed real estate markets have already recorded improvements. Office REIT stock increased 58% from 2024 to 164 million sq ft by 2026, while green-certified Grade A office stock rose from around 39% in 2020 to 66% by the first half of 2026.
The challenge now is to extend these improvements beyond the largest markets. JLL’s assessment suggests that deeper data, stronger disclosures and wider technology adoption will be important if India is to convert its recent transparency gains into sustained institutional participation across its real estate market.
