Land deals surge 50% to 3,772 acres in 2025 for housing, commercial, data centre projects: Anarock

Real estate consultant Anarock reported a significant surge in land acquisition activity during 2025, with developers and investors closing 126 land deals covering a total of 3,772 acres across India. This represents a substantial increase in land area compared to the previous year, when 133 deals were completed for 2,514 acres, marking approximately 50% growth in total acreage acquired.

The land transactions included both outright purchases by real estate developers and joint development agreements between builders and landowners, covering diverse project categories including housing, commercial spaces, mixed-use developments, warehousing facilities, and data centres.

Residential Projects Lead Land Acquisition

Residential developments dominated the land deals landscape, accounting for the majority of transactions completed during the year. The breakdown of land deals by project type reveals the strong focus on housing-related developments:

Project Type	Number of Deals	Land Area (Acres)
Residential Projects	96	1,877+
Mixed-use Development	8	1,045+
Industrial & Logistics Parks	4	597+
Commercial & Data Centres	-	79
Warehousing	-	107
Retail Spaces	-	13

The residential category encompassed various types of housing projects, including plotted developments, township projects, and luxury villa developments, reflecting the diverse demand across different market segments.

Regional Activity and Market Distribution

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region emerged as the most active market for land transactions, leading the country in deal volume. According to Anarock Group Chairman Anuj Puri, MMR recorded 32 deals spanning over 500 acres of land, demonstrating the continued attractiveness of the region for real estate development.

The mixed-use development segment showed significant activity with eight large-scale deals covering 1,045 acres, indicating developer preference for integrated projects that combine residential, commercial, and retail components. Industrial and logistics parks secured four deals covering 597 acres, reflecting the growing demand for warehousing and distribution facilities.

Commercial and Specialized Developments

Commercial and data centre projects accounted for 79 acres of land deals, highlighting the growing importance of digital infrastructure in real estate development. The warehousing sector secured 107 acres across multiple deals, while retail spaces accounted for 13 acres, showing the varied nature of commercial real estate requirements.

The substantial increase in total land area acquired compared to the previous year suggests robust developer confidence and strong underlying demand across multiple real estate segments, with residential projects continuing to drive the majority of land acquisition activity in the Indian real estate market.

India's residential real estate market experienced a significant volume contraction in 2025, with housing sales across seven major cities declining 14% to 3.96 lakh units compared to 4.60 lakh units in 2024. According to Anarock, one of the country's leading real estate consultants, this decline was primarily driven by hardening property prices, layoffs in the IT sector, geopolitical tensions, and broader economic uncertainties.

Despite the volume decline, the market demonstrated resilience in value terms, with total sales value growing 6% to over ₹6 lakh crore in 2025 from ₹5.68 lakh crore in 2024. This divergence between volume and value reflects the continued upward pressure on housing prices across major metropolitan areas.

City-wise Performance Analysis

The sales performance varied significantly across the seven major cities, with six experiencing declines and only Chennai recording growth.

City	2025 Sales (Units)	2024 Sales (Units)	Change (%)
Mumbai Metropolitan Region	1,27,875	1,55,335	-18%
Pune	65,135	81,090	-20%
Bengaluru	62,205	65,225	-5%
Delhi-NCR	57,220	61,900	-8%
Hyderabad	44,885	58,540	-23%
Kolkata	16,125	18,335	-12%
Chennai	22,180	19,220	+15%

Hyderabad recorded the steepest decline at 23%, followed by Pune at 20% and Mumbai Metropolitan Region at 18%. Chennai emerged as the sole bright spot, registering a 15% increase in housing sales, demonstrating regional market dynamics and varying demand patterns.

Price Trends and Market Dynamics

Average housing prices across the top seven cities rose 8% to ₹9,260 per sq ft by the end of 2025, compared to ₹8,590 per sq ft at the end of 2024. Notably, this price growth rate has moderated from the double-digit increases witnessed in previous years to single digits in 2025.

"2025 has been a year of broad-spectrum upheaval, including geopolitical turmoil, layoffs in the IT sector, tariff tensions and other uncertainties," said Anuj Puri, Chairman of Anarock. The IT sector layoffs particularly impacted cities with significant technology industry presence, contributing to reduced housing demand in these markets.

Market Outlook and Key Factors

Looking ahead, Puri indicated that the housing sector's performance in 2026 would depend on several critical factors, most notably the Reserve Bank of India's rate cuts and developers' price controls. These factors will likely influence both affordability and market sentiment in the coming year.

The moderation in price growth rates, combined with the volume decline, suggests a market adjustment phase where affordability concerns and economic uncertainties are tempering previously robust demand. The 6% growth in total sales value despite the 14% volume decline underscores the continued price appreciation across major metropolitan markets.