India Mall Vacancy Hits 5% Low as MMR Leasing Peaks
Grade A mall vacancy in top seven Indian cities dropped to 5% in H1 2026. Mumbai led leasing volume with no new supply entering the market.
Key points
- Grade A mall vacancy in India's top seven cities fell to 5 percent in H1 2026, the five-year low.
- Mumbai Metropolitan Region recorded the highest leasing volume at 0.65 million square feet with zero new supply.
- Delhi-NCR held the highest vacancy at 7 percent while adding the most new mall space nationally.
Grade A mall vacancy in India’s top seven cities fell to 5 percent in the first half of 2026. This marks the lowest level recorded in the last five years.
The decline reflects a broader shift from space expansion to asset quality. The Federal notes that leasing demand remains strong despite limited new inventory.
City divergence drives market performance
Kolkata recorded the lowest vacancy at 1.3 percent. Delhi-NCR held the highest vacancy at 7 percent, a gap of more than five times.
Six of the seven markets saw vacancy drop by 60 basis points. Chennai was the only city where vacancy increased slightly during the period.
Mumbai leasing outperforms national average
Mumbai Metropolitan Region logged 0.65 million square feet of leasing in Q2 2026. This volume was the highest among all tracked Indian cities.
No new mall supply entered the Mumbai market during that quarter. Rental growth on Linking Road reached 20 percent year-on-year.
New supply concentrates in Delhi
Delhi-NCR added 0.90 million square feet of new mall space. This figure represents the highest new supply volume in the country.
The region’s leasing volume of 0.20 million square feet trailed Mumbai. This imbalance contributes to the higher vacancy rate in the north.
