Land deals moderates as developers balance expansion against rising land cost

India’s land acquisition market is moderating, with developers balancing expansion against rising land costs and project viability.

According to Anarock data, the first nine months of the year recorded 76 deals for approximately 1,445 acres against 99 deals for 3,292 acres in the same period last year

Joint development arrangements (JDAs) are becoming more frequent in the acquisition mix with developers preferring assert-light model.


"With project economics becoming more important, developers are increasingly turning to JDAs with existing landowners. These are distinct from joint ventures or JVs, where developers partner with other developers who have constrained ability to complete projects. Under a JDA arrangement, a developers can access land and build projects via a partnership rather via an outright purchase,” said Mayank Saksena - MD & CEO - Land Services, Anarock Group.

The number of JDA transactions rose from 10 in 2022 to 30 in 2025 and the share of total JDA deals increased from around 12% to nearly 24% in 2025 and further to 25% in 9M 2026. JDAs accounted for one in every four land deals in first nine months of 2026. Of the 76 deals closed in the period, at least 19 were JDAs.

Between 2022 to September, 2026, a total of 516 deals spanning 12,958 acres were closed across the country. While 2024 saw the highest number of land deals (133) spanning over 2,515 acres, 2025 stood out in terms of acreage - 126 deals over 3,772 acres. Large transactions (50+ acres) fell from 12 in 9M 2025 to just five in 9M 2026, with their combined acreage dropping from approx. 2,398 acres to 588 acres in the same period.

Between 2022 and September, 2026, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) led land acquisition with approximately 2,798 acres, followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) with 2,012 acres, and Bengaluru at 1,679 acres. Ahmedabad was an outlier with five transactions of 50 acres or more accounting for nearly 93% of the city's total tracked acreage - highlighting how a handful of large deals significantly impact a market's totals.

Trends indicate that developers continue to buy land in the established metros, but the biggest parcels are increasingly being acquired in tier 2 and 3 markets. Between 2022 and 9M 2026, MMR (about 1,965 acres), NCR (about 1,570 acres) and Bengaluru (about 1,540 acres) led on cumulative acreage. They were followed by Ahmedabad (about 1,460 acres from just 14 deals) and Hyderabad (about 995 acres).

The seven established metros (MMR, NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, and Kolkata) accounted for about 86% of the 516 deals on record but only about 57% of the roughly 12,960 acres were acquired. Smaller and mid-sized deals remain concentrated in established markets, while larger land transactions are being done in smaller towns and cities.

“The 61 transactions of 50 acres or more accounted for about 63% of all acreage, and nearly half of them (29) were outside the seven established metros. Gujarat was the strongest market for such deals, with Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara together accounting for about 2,020 acres, or roughly 16% of the total. Coimbatore with about 770 acres, and Amritsar, Nagpur, Panipat and Ludhiana also featured in the top 12 on cumulative acreage, despite very few deals,” said Saksena.

The largest single transactions were a 714-acre deal in Coimbatore, a 600-acre deal in Hyderabad, and two Ahmedabad deals of 500 and 440 acres.