Beyond Square Feet: What Deal Sizes Reveal About India's Office Market

When analyzing India's commercial real estate (CRE) sector, deal size is an important but often overlooked metric. This simple number provides insight into how occupiers are approaching space requirements, how markets are operating, and how every city's unique economic and real estate dynamics influence leasing behavior. While numbers like gross absorption and rental rates capture overall market activity, deal size uncovers the underlying factors.

Taking data from Altre's Q1 report, we can see that Bengaluru commercial real estate leads with an average deal size of around 1,00,000 sq. ft., more than three times Mumbai commercial real estate's 30,000 sq. ft.

Let's see how this stark difference reflects the distinct market characteristics and tenant profiles shaping both cities.

Why Deal Size Matters in Commercial Real Estate

Deal size signals tenant confidence, supply adequacy, and cost management strategies. Larger average deal sizes generally indicate markets where established GCCs, expanding companies, and back offices make significant space commitments. Such markets offer ample, large, contiguous floorplates at rents that support leasing office spaces at scale.

Conversely, smaller average deal sizes suggest markets where many firms, such as startups, pilot-phase GCCs, and leaner corporate offices, enter with smaller, more flexible footprints to maintain agility and control costs.

This tenant mix helps define the character of local markets. For instance, Mumbai hosts many BFSI clients'pilot setups and corporate offices, leasing smaller office spaces due to higher rentals. Meanwhile, markets like Pune's established areas and Bengaluru's Outer Ring Road see larger deals from growing tech firms and GCCs because they are supported by better supply and pricing.

Split view showing the interior of a modern office workspace and exterior of a contemporary commercial building.

City-Wise Deal Size Trends (Q1 2025)

City	Avg. Deal Size (sq. ft.)	Avg. Rent (?/sq. ft./month)	Market Characteristics
Bengaluru	~1,00,000	?80–100	Dominated by tech firms and GCCs, supported by large floorplates and moderate rents.
Hyderabad	~45,000	?60–80	Strong supply and occupier-friendly rents encourage larger leases.
NCR	~50,000	?80–110	Diverse tenant mix with both large and medium-sized deals, reflecting established market confidence.
Mumbai	~30,000	?150–250	High rents and fragmented supply limit deal sizes despite strong demand.
Pune	~70,000	?80–100	Available supply and established confidence from existing companies drive larger deal sizes.
Chennai	~30,000	?80–120	Balanced demand from industrial and tech occupiers, with emerging market confidence.

Data from Altre's Q1 report highlights that markets combining affordable rents with sufficiently large floorplates enable bigger deals. At the same time, expensive, supply-constrained markets restrict average deal sizes. However, outliers exist in both Bengaluru's and Mumbai's commercial real estate, with million sq ft. deals not being unheard of in either city.

Micromarket Comparison: ORR (Bengaluru) vs BKC (Mumbai)

Let's take the example of two of India's most prominent micromarkets to better understand how deal sizes reflect broader commercial real estate dynamics: Outer Ring Road (ORR) in Bengaluru and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai. According to Altre's Q1 report, ORR commands the largest average deal sizes in the country, exceeding 1,20,000 sq. ft., with rents ranging from ?90–110 per sq. ft. Large tech firms and global capability centers (GCCs), which are either scaling rapidly or consolidating operations into larger state-of-the-art campuses, dominate this market. What enables this scale is not just the demand but the supply format. Altre's data shows that ORR currently has an upcoming vacant supply of nearly 14 million sq. ft. (Altre platform). This includes large, contiguous, modular floorplates in Grade A developments, which align perfectly with the needs of mature occupiers making long-term commitments. The moderate rent levels also make it financially viable for these companies to lease large spaces without impacting rental budgets. Add to that the improving infrastructure, particularly the metro expansion, and you get a micromarket where occupiers have both the confidence, the physical capacity, and the fiscal capability to commit to massive footprints.

Skyline of Outer Ring Road in Bengaluru showcasing scalable supply, cost-efficient growth, and large office campuses.

Contrast this with BKC in Mumbai, one of the country's most premium office leasing destinations. Here, average deal sizes hover around 10,000 sq. ft., and rents touch ?300 per sq. ft., making it one of the most expensive commercial micro-markets in India. Despite robust demand from BFSI firms, consulting companies, and a growing startup ecosystem, the limited supply (only about 4 million sq. ft. of upcoming supply) and high fragmentation of available stock constrain deal size. Many buildings in BKC simply do not offer large contiguous floorplates, making it difficult for companies to expand meaningfully within a single location. As a result, even large occupiers tend to split teams across multiple locations or adopt more flexible office leasing strategies.

Aerial view of Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai highlighting premium location, high rental market, and limited space availability.

This comparison brings into focus a critical insight from the Altre Q1 commercial real estate report: deal size is not simply a product of tenant demand.

It is shaped by rent levels, supply availability, tenant type, and market maturity. ORR's affordable pricing and abundant, scalable supply make it a natural fit for large-scale leases, particularly from tech and IT/ITES players. BKC, on the other hand, attracts high-value tenants who prioritize location but are forced to compromise on space due to pricing and supply structure. This influences who leases space, how much they lease, and how they plan their future footprint, defining the very character of these micromarkets.

By understanding these interrelations, stakeholders, from developers and occupiers to investors, can make smarter, more contextual decisions. Where one market may offer scale and long-term stability, another might provide premium value but require flexibility and agility. That's the power of looking at deal size, as Altre emphasizes, as a key diagnostic for CRE strategy.

What Drives These Differences?

Infographic showing four key factors influencing commercial real estate deal sizes: rental pricing, market confidence, tenant type, and supply format.

Rental Pricing: High rents limit space demand; moderate rents encourage scale.
Supply Format: Large, modular floorplates enable bigger leases; fragmented or legacy stock constrains them.
Tenant Type: Tech and GCCs dominate markets like ORR; BFSI and startups drive smaller footprints in BKC.
Market Confidence: Established markets see larger deals due to occupier stability; emerging markets have smaller deals reflecting cautious office leasing.

Strategic Takeaways

Deal size is a powerful indicator of how occupiers respond to local market conditions, balancing affordability, supply, and strategic intent. As Altre's Q1 commercial real estate report shows, developers should build large, flexible floorplates in supply-rich, moderate-rent markets like ORR, while focusing on fast, adaptable spaces in premium, constrained areas like BKC.

Occupiers can optimize costs by aligning space needs with local deal trends, securing long-term leases in large-deal markets, and leveraging flexible options in high-rent zones. Ultimately, deal size is a useful lens for understanding commercial real estate markets in India.

For more information, read Altre's Q1 report for details on deal sizes in India's top 6 commercial real estate markets.