Transactions in the real estate sector in the third quarter of 2024 saw a steep sequential fall of 71 per cent and annual decline of 41 per cent at $452 million, dominated by private equity activity, according to Grant Thornton.

The decline was due to the absence of large value transactions, compared to the year ago quarter when just four deals accounted for 85 per cent of the total value. In terms of numbers, sequentially, there was a 5 per cent rise and 54 per cent on the year, the report said.

The deals being tracked included mergers and acquisitions and investments by private equity firms. If IPOs and QIPs are included, the overall activity will be at $1.4 billion.

An increase in activity was noticed during the fag end of the quarter, Grant Thornton said, indicating a potential revival in momentum for the fourth quarter.

The quarter’s deals were dominated by PE activity worth $401 million from 12 transactions. While there was a fall in PE activity from a quarter ago, the deal values were higher than seen in Q1 and a year-ago quarter.

One of the biggest transactions in the quarter was Singapore’s Keppel Corp acquiring One Paramount from RMZ Corp, in Chennai.

M&As worth $51 million were seen in the quarter. Domestic consolidations continued to dominate M&A activity, the report said, adding,  “notably, there were three inbound deals in the property development space and two outbound deals in the student housing and online rental platform sectors.”

The real estate sector is seeing a shift in investments toward warehouses, logistics parks, and student rentals. An emerging trend is investments in real estate technology companies, such as the Lodha group, which made five acquisitions worth $40 million.

The commercial development segment contributed 60 per cent of the deals, amounting to $386 million.

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