Flexible office market: India likely to cross 100 MSF in 2026; to hit 160 MSF by 2030

New Delhi: India may soon cross the 100 million-square-feet mark in 2026 as it continues to be the most mature flexible office market globally. By 2030, it is expected to extend to 160 MSF as per a report.

The country's flexible office inventory accounts for 10.5 percent of the total office stock and reached 88.7 million square feet in the first half of 2026, the report from Cushman & Wakefield said.

India's growth in the sector can be ascertained by its gradual transformation from an amenity into a strategic component of occupier real estate portfolios while it scored 100 per cent on the firm’s Flexible Office Market Maturity Index.

The country seconds United States in being the most active market in the world as it occupied 10.2 percent share of global bookings in H1 2026, up from 2.2 per cent in H1 2025, according to an Upflex analysis.

India continues to demonstrate strong momentum across occupier demand, supply growth and operator activity. The expansion is being underpinned by sustained occupier demand.

However, India's flexible workspace has shown considerable growth as the operators across India's top eight cities in H1 2026 leased 8.5 MSF in rhe workspace. this marks their strongest first-half performance as the flexible workspace now accounts for around 20 per cent of overall office leasing in India.

In addition, operators leased 44.1 MSF of space, representing more than 720,000 flex seats between 2023 and 2025, while managed office requirements averaged between 350 and 500 seats, the report noted.

Meanwhile, seat demand has expanded consistently despite periods of macroeconomic volatility, growing nearly 7-fold from nearly 38,000 seats in 2020 to an estimated 3 lakh in 2026.

“Greater institutional participation is bringing long-term capital and discipline into the sector, while evolving occupier expectations are pushing operators towards higher-quality, more sophisticated offerings. With newer demand pools also emerging, including AI-led businesses, the opportunity for flex is becoming both broader and more enduring,” said Ramita Arora, Executive Managing Director, Bengaluru & Head - Flex, India, Cushman & Wakefield.

Demand is evolving too with GCCs and multinational companies increasingly using flex to enter and expand across markets. AI is emerging as another growth opportunity, with India among the leading markets to have developed a mature AI ecosystem within the flexible office sector.

Plug-and-play scalable workplaces are particularly aligned with the rapidly evolving space requirements of AI companies, the report noted.

(With inputs from IANS)