Commercial real estate boomed in 2019 and is likely to further bloom in 2020. The supply is steadily increasing, so has the absorption rates. Rents could inch up because there is limited ready-to-move-in supply in major markets. Companies looking for larger spaces are pre-committing to developers that are starting work now.

By the end of 2019, office supply grew by 13 per cent, touching 43.3 million sq. ft. against 38.2 million sq. ft. in 2018. Commercial spaces also attracted maximum investments close to US$ 3 billion in the first three quarters of the previous year.

It is likely to see heavy investments in tech-enabled warehouses. Concrete or low quality steel godowns are now being replaced by steel structures, which are pre-engineered in factories and then assembled at the location.

The way India stores is changing, fast moving consumer goods companies, consumer durable and other manufacturing firms are consolidating smaller warehouses across multiple states, set up to be tax efficient, into a few strategic but large ones considering India is now a single tax country.

From managing single company warehouses, logistics companies are shifting to multi-client, multi-product models.