Monthly average rent of warehousing space in Delhi-NCR up nearly 20% in first half of 2023: Report

New Delhi: Monthly average rental of quality warehousing space in Delhi-NCR rose 19.9 per cent in the first six months of this year, according to a report by realtors body Credai and data analytics firm CRE Matrix.

In their joint report released on Thursday, Credai and CRE Matrix highlighted that the Grade-A warehousing stock crossed 163 million square feet in the first half of 2023, owing to rapid industrial growth.

During January-June period, the demand for Grade A warehousing space stood at 13 million square feet, whereas supply stood at 9.4 million square feet across six major cities. The vacancy level stood at a mere 8.8 per cent at the end of H1 2023, from the previous 10.5 per cent in the year-ago period.

These six cities are -- Delhi- NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Rental costs too have witnessed a 10 per cent surge across India wherein Delhi-NCR (almost 20 per cent) and Chennai (20.8 per cent) had the highest increments in rental rates at the end of H12023.

As per the data, the weighted average market rent of warehousing in Delhi-NCR is Rs 27.7 per square feet a month.

CREDAI President Boman Irani says, “With the growth of e-commerce, retail, and coupled with the influx of global companies foraying into India, we strongly believe that the demand and supply of Grade A warehouses will only witness an upward trajectory in the coming years.” CRE Matrix CEO Abhishek Gupta said warehousing is the only real estate segment where demand has outstripped supply every year since last 7 years.

"Vacancy is at its all-time low at 8.8 per cent, rentals are at all-time high. India is growing at a breakneck speed and we need more and more Grade A warehousing," he said.

Total Grade A warehouse stock in India is approximately 165 million square feet and estimated to rise to 500 million square feet over the next 5 years, Gupta said.

"Warehouses are often built in outskirts of cities. Brace up for in-city warehouses for fast delivery where rentals could be higher than office rentals in some cases," he added.