"India remains one of the low-cost Grade A office rental markets, with a vast pool of English-speaking and qualified human talent. It will continue to be the preferred destination for large global captive centres, especially when most companies in the West are looking to cut costs," says Sotheby's Goyal.

If you cannot get into commercial property directly, there are other options. Real estate investment trusts (REITs) have made investing in commercial property simpler. It is good for even those who may not have enough money to buy any real estate, but want to diversify investments into this asset class. "One can invest in REITs with as little as ₹10,000-15,000 in the primary market and one unit in the secondary market. It is also a source of regular income, since it is mandatory to distribute more than 90% of the income as dividend to investors on a regular basis," says Goyal.

There are three REITs listed in the stock market — Embassy Office Parks REIT, Mindspace Business Parks REIT and Brookfield India REIT, which have given returns of 3.01%, 3.02% and -1.57%, respectively, in the last one year.

There are likely to be more REIT listings in the remaining months of FY23, according to experts. "With India having 528 million square feet of occupied Grade A office stock as of September 22 and global institutional investors continuing to invest in annuity assets, we expect more REIT listings over the next two-three years. Developers such as DLF, Phoenix Mills and Oberoi Realty have already highlighted their medium-term plans to consider REIT listings," ICICI Securities said in a report on REITs recently.

Fractional ownership has also grabbed attention. Like REITs, fractional ownership makes it easier to own a small stake (a fraction) of an expensive property with lower ticket size. Platforms, including Strata, Aasthy and Myre Capital, among others, pool in funds from different investors to buy a big-ticket property and allot ownership in fractions or otherwise according to the amount collected per person. Not only one receives a regular cash flow, but also capital appreciation while selling his/her respective fraction.

"Unlike REITs which are regulated by SEBI, fractional investments are not regulated and therefore carry a higher risk-return reward. REITs are more liquid and can be easily transacted/sold, solving the biggest problem associated with real estate investments i.e., getting assets liquidated when required," says Goyal.

Real estate investment returns may not beat other financial assets such as stocks and mutual funds, but it is still an important part of one's asset allocation. However, its illiquid nature is a challenge. So, while it's not advisable to go the whole hog, from a diversification perspective, real estate investment makes for a well-balanced investment portfolio.

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