Private equity (PE) investment in India's real estate sector surged by 9 per cent to reach $2.2 billion in the third quarter (July-September period) this year, which is double the investment made in the same quarter last year.

In the first nine months this year, private equity players invested $3.9 billion in real estate in the country during the period from January to September -- more than the total investment in 2023, according to a report by global real estate consulting firm Savills India.

On a quarterly basis, investment of $1.7 billion was made in the industrial and logistics segment, which is 77 per cent of the total capital infusion, due to a surge in e-commerce and the government's emphasis on making India a manufacturing hub.

The commercial office segment was at second place, accounting for 21 per cent of the total private equity investment in the real estate sector in the country.

According to the report, the entire investment through private equity in the commercial office segment came from foreign investors, led by major cities like Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR.

Arvind Nandan, Managing Director, Research and Consulting at Savills India, said that despite global challenges, India's real estate sector has seen huge investment since the beginning of 2024 and has surpassed the investor figures of 2023, which shows that there is a positive economic environment in India and investors remain positive.

India is the fastest growing economy in the world. The country’s GDP grew at the rate of 8.2 per cent in the financial year 2023-24 and it is likely to grow at the rate of 7.2 per cent in the current financial year (FY 2024-25).

According to industry leaders, the real estate sector in India is the second-largest employer after the agriculture sector and the phenomenal growth with an 18.7 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

The industry is witnessing a boom in terms of value and volume with a well-established value chain of developers in residential and commercial real estate, contractors, consultants such as architects and engineers, investors and so on.