Industry Leaders Share Outlook on Real Estate, Finance and Infrastructure Trends for 2026

2025 has been a strong and steady year for Indian real estate, driven by committed end-user demand, confident buyers, rising capital flows, and a clear move toward structured, data-based advisory. Across residential, commercial, and new asset classes, stakeholders increasingly depended on insights that helped them understand micro-market shifts, anticipate trends, and make informed investment decisions. This year reinforced that real value in real estate comes from disciplined planning, sound capital management, and transparent governance not just from launches or transactions. As we look toward 2026, the industry is clearly moving into a more institutional and performance-led phase. Technology adoption, sustainability, and focused asset optimisation will guide how businesses grow. We expect stronger institutional participation, sharper deployment of capital, and higher dependence on partners who bring together analytics, financial modelling, and strong on-ground execution. At Unitern, we believe the coming year will further highlight the need for disciplined development management and structured consulting. These capabilities will be essential for unlocking value, managing risk, and helping developers scale in a responsible and efficient manner. The sector is entering a cycle where informed choices, operational excellence, and long-term vision will shape leadership and create lasting impact.

2025 has been a watershed year for Mumbai’s real estate landscape. End-user demand drove the market more than speculative buying, with a clear shift toward larger, amenity-rich homes across the MMR. Micro-markets such as Thane, Wadala, Chembur, and Goregaon continued to outperform as infrastructure projects improved connectivity and expanded buyer confidence. This year demonstrated that Mumbai homebuyers are prioritising liveability, trust in developers, and long-term value strengthening the city’s overall residential stability. 2026 is expected to usher in a phase of smart, infrastructure-led growth across MMR. With the Trans Harbour Link, Metro network expansion, and new road corridors becoming operational, emerging hubs are poised for accelerated appreciation. Demand from NRIs and business families is likely to rise as buyers continue shifting from older, congested precincts to modern, spacious communities. As transparency improves and supply becomes more curated, Mumbai’s real estate market is set to enter a cycle of healthy absorption, premiumisation, and long-term.

2026 will be a pivotal year for India’s premium housing market as financial stability and rising disposable incomes continue to reshape buyer behaviour. Homebuyers today are far more investment-conscious they’re prioritising financially solid developers, strong project fundamentals, and long-term asset value. With interest rates expected to remain stable and liquidity improving, we foresee accelerated demand in luxury and upper–mid segments across Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Goa.

Real estate will decisively move from being a product-led business to a services-led one. Homes will no longer be defined only by location and construction quality and RE brand, but by the services, care and outcomes they enable. We are already seeing technology get embedded into homes to proactively track health, reduce risk and improve healthspan from smart monitoring to preventive wellness infrastructure. This shift will redefine housing, especially for elders, where the focus will move from ownership to longevity, independence and quality of life.

2025 reinforced the importance of structured, goal-oriented financial planning as investors navigated market volatility and shifting interest-rate cycles. There was a clear move away from ad-hoc investing towards diversified portfolios backed by professional advice and long-term discipline. As we enter 2026, investor focus is expected to sharpen on personalised wealth solutions, digital advisory platforms and prudent risk management, with trust, transparency and financial education emerging as key drivers of sustainable wealth creation.

In 2025, India’s commercial real estate sector demonstrated strong resilience, supported by steady occupier demand and expanding business activity. Alongside co-working, managed office solutions gained significant traction, with even traditional enterprises increasingly adopting flexible, plug-and-play formats to support hybrid work strategies. Tier-2 cities also witnessed accelerated growth, driven by cost efficiencies, improving infrastructure and talent availability. Looking ahead to 2026, the sector’s outlook remains positive, with continued demand for quality assets, flexible workplace solutions and sustainability-led development shaping the next phase of commercial real estate growth.

The year 2025 has been a defining one for the real estate sector, especially in Bengaluru’s aspirational and mid-segment housing. We have witnessed sustained demand in micro-markets such as Hoskote, Sarjapur Road, and Whitefield, driven by strong infrastructure developments, new employment hubs and tech parks, healthy rental yields, and improved mobility. First-time homebuyers and young families continue to dominate this segment, choosing projects that combine affordability with modern, lifestyle amenities. At Sowparnika Projects, this trend has been clearly visible across our project portfolio. Homebuyers are prioritizing intelligent layouts, efficient use of space, community-driven amenities, and long-term value creation. The preference has shifted toward homes that offer an aspirational upgrade, without compromising on accessibility or affordability. We have also observed the prices of 2 and 3 BHK apartments increase by nearly 40 percent, rising from INR 65 lakh in 2022 to INR 95 lakh in 2025. As we look ahead to 2026, we anticipate the mid-segment to remain the backbone of residential demand. Continuous infrastructure growth, increased digital adoption in construction, and a greater focus on sustainable, community living will further accelerate interest in this category. In other words, 2026 will continue to be a year of balancing affordability with aspiration, driving design innovation, and reiterating confidence in India’s housing story.

The year-end is traditionally an opportune time for homebuyers to invest in property, benefiting both buyers and developers. While homebuyers gain from attractive deals, flexible payment plans, and tax advantages before the financial year closes, developers are able to accelerate sales and clear inventory to meet annual targets. The momentum that begins during the festive season continues through year-end, supported by improved buyer sentiment, bonus payouts, and rising disposable incomes. This period creates a win-win scenario empowering buyers to make strategic investments and enabling developers to strengthen cash flows.

India’s real estate market is entering FY2026 on the back of a strong 2025, which showcased steady growth, resilient buyer confidence, and a clear shift from volume to value. Premium and luxury housing is emerging as a mainstream investment, driven by rising incomes, lifestyle aspirations, and sustained NRI participation. Bengaluru and Hyderabad exemplify this trend Bengaluru’s tech-led economy fuels demand for spacious, future-ready homes, while Hyderabad’s infrastructure-rich western corridors attract buyers seeking connectivity and quality living. Lifestyle-led design, green spaces, and smart amenities are now benchmarks, while rising ticket sizes reflect a mature mindset prioritising durability, credibility, and long-term value.

Through 2025, construction activity remained steady across housing and commercial segments, supported by a steady demand for premium residential and commercial spaces. The latest Knight Frank–NAREDCO Sentiment Index, with a Current Score of 59 and a Future Score of 61, points to sustained optimism among developers and investors. As 2026 approaches, project activity in major cities is expected to widen further, helped by clearer demand visibility, supportive financing conditions, and a strong pipeline of ongoing and upcoming developments.

The year 2025 underscored how alternative capital is increasingly shaping India’s real estate and structured credit ecosystem. AIF commitments in India are rising sharply and total investments reached over INR 5.3 trillion by March 2025, up 32% year-on-year as investors diversify beyond traditional asset classes. This is a clear evidence of growing institutional and global interest in asset-backed strategies with strong governance and risk control at their core. India is also emerging as one of the fastest-advancing private credit markets in the Asia-Pacific region, with real estate private credit surging as developers seek flexible, structured financing solutions that banks and traditional lenders are unable to provide. Looking ahead to 2026, we expect deeper capital deployment, consolidation and continued innovation in fund structures, with an intensified focus on execution excellence, risk-adjusted returns and sustainable long-term value creation imperatives for alternative capital to truly support India’s urbanisation and infrastructure financing needs.

 In FY2025, fuel-dependent operations across sectors began reassessing what efficiency really means. The focus shifted from confirming fuel delivery to ensuring complete accountability at the litre level. That transition marked a broader push toward managing variance, turnaround times, and on-ground control rather than treating fuel as a simple input. The past year also made it clear that small inefficiencies even a 1–2% discrepancy in fuel handling can escalate into meaningful operational and financial exposure when repeated across sites and time periods. This realisation has prompted leadership teams to scrutinise fuel data and processes far more closely. Looking ahead to 2026, priorities are becoming increasingly defined: tighter reconciliation mechanisms, more predictable delivery cycles, reduced manual dependency, and real-time visibility into current operations instead of retrospective reporting. The next stage of growth in fuel operations will favour precision, discipline, and control not scale alone.