India Commercial Property Gains From Stronger RERA Rules

India’s commercial property market has moved further into the global transparency mainstream, climbing to 26th place in JLL’s 2026 Global Real Estate Transparency Index. The five-place rise puts India in the index’s “Transparent” tier and makes it the strongest improver in Asia Pacific. The shift matters beyond investment flows, as better market information and clearer rules can influence how cities plan, finance and deliver new commercial infrastructure.

The latest movement builds on reforms that have gradually reduced information gaps in India’s property market. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, or RERA, has helped establish a more formal regulatory framework for property development, while digital land records and expanding market databases have made information easier to access. JLL’s 2026 assessment identifies digitisation, regulatory changes and improved data availability as important drivers of transparency gains. For cities, the implications extend beyond the balance sheets of developers and investors. More reliable information on transactions, assets, regulations and building performance can improve decisions around office districts, logistics hubs, data centres and other large infrastructure projects. It can also make it easier to assess whether new development is keeping pace with transport capacity, power availability and other urban services.

The improvement comes as institutional capital continues to expand across Indian real estate. JLL reported $10.5 billion of institutional investment across 78 transactions in 2025, while investment activity in the first half of 2026 reached $4.4 billion, up 25% from the corresponding period a year earlier. These figures indicate that greater market visibility is developing alongside deeper participation from institutional investors. Transparency is also becoming increasingly connected to environmental performance. The 2026 index expanded its sustainability measures to include building energy use, efficiency reporting, emissions data and climate-risk reporting. JLL noted that energy resilience and power availability are becoming increasingly important factors in real estate site selection, particularly for energy-intensive sectors such as data centres.

India’s progress, however, does not mean that transparency gaps have disappeared. The country remains within the “Transparent” rather than “Highly Transparent” category, while the latter includes 13 markets. Further progress will depend not only on regulations such as RERA, but also on consistent implementation, accessible data and stronger reporting on energy and climate risks. For India’s rapidly expanding cities, the next phase of real estate transparency will therefore be measured not simply by investment volumes, but by whether better information supports more accountable, efficient and resilient urban growth.

Also Read: India Real Estate Transparency Gains Sharply With RERA

India Commercial Property Gains From Stronger RERA Rules