Summary of this article
A CII–Colliers report projects India’s real estate market to surge from under $1 trillion today to $5–10 trillion by 2047, propelled by growth across residential, commercial, and emerging asset classes. Backed by policy reforms, sustainability goals, and technological innovation, the sector is expected to play a pivotal role in realizing India’s vision of Viksit Bharat.
India’s real estate sector is entering a defining era of transformation, driven by multi-fold growth across asset classes, aligned with the nation’s broader economic ambitions. From less than a USD 1 trillion market currently, the sector is poised to scale up to USD 5–10 trillion by 2047, marking significant contribution to India’s GDP and equitable urban development.
This expansion is multi-dimensional and is powered by dynamic growth across core segments—residential, office, retail, industrial & warehousing as well as emerging alternative asset classes like senior living, co-living, and data centers, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Colliers’ recent report, titled – ‘Real Estate @2047: Building India’s Future Growth Corridors’.
The report states India’s real estate market has grown from strength to strength over the last few decades, from a fragmented and informal sector in the 1990s to a more structured and key contributor to economic growth. It has steadily grown into a significant contributor to the Indian economy, with a current market size of about USD 0.3 trillion, accounting for 6–8 per cent of the GDP, marking a considerable leap from its sub-5 per cent contribution prior to 2010.
The sector’s innate ability to generate employment across construction, services, and allied industries makes it a vital component of India’s development strategy for the future. Over the last few decades, the country has demonstrated remarkable resilience and agility, navigating global disruptions. Despite the challenges, India has emerged stronger and established its credentials as the fastest-growing major economy, with GDP growth rates of 6–8 per cent in the post-pandemic era.
It has also recently become the world’s fourth-largest economy and is well on course to become the third-largest by 2030. The government’s sustained push for infrastructure development, digitalisation, domestic manufacturing, sector-focused incentives and sustainability continues to provide tailwinds to its economic growth trajectory. As India sets its sights on becoming a USD 35–40 trillion economy by 2047 — the centenary of its independence, real estate is poised to play a central role in shaping the vision of Viksit Bharat — a developed, inclusive, and future-ready nation.
The ongoing transformation in Indian real estate aligns with the country’s broader economic ascent and is powered by crucial growth engines. The first growth engine is government-led reforms and regulatory enhancements, which focus on sectoral push and alignment with national priorities. The other crucial growth engine is powered by structural drivers—rapid urbanisation, infrastructure development, favourable demographics, sustainability mandates, and technological innovation.
These growth engines will form the foundation for real estate’s expansion from a USD 1 trillion market today to a projected USD 10 trillion industry by 2047, potentially contributing 14–20 per cent to India’s GDP. Anchored in the broader framework of Amrit Kaal, this transformative period emphasises long-term equitable growth, infrastructure modernisation, technological innovation, and sustainable development. As India targets sustainable and all-inclusive growth under the Amrit Kaal vision, real estate will be instrumental in ensuring that the built environment reflects national priorities and aspirations of a truly developed India.
