REITs at take-off stage, big opportunity for investors amid PSU land monetisation
01 February 2026
Government's push to monetise PSU land via REITs could accelerate the next phase of India’s real estate investment market
India’s real estate investment trust (REIT) market is entering a critical growth phase, offering a new asset class for investors while opening up a large monetisation opportunity for public sector enterprises, market experts said.Drawing parallels with the evolution of the mutual fund industry, Navneet Munot, managing director and chief executive officer of HDFC Asset Management, said REITs today resemble where mutual funds stood a decade ago.“For mutual fund industry to reach a size of Rs 10,00,000 crore after like 25 years or so, and from 10 we have become 18, last 10 to 11 years. I think REITs are where mutual fund industry size was 10–11 years back. They’ve crossed Rs 10 lakh crore in assets (REITs and InvITs put together). Over a period of time I agree, if you look at the experience in many other countries where they reformed to make this asset class more popular, I think India will have a similar journey,” Munot said.
In Budget 2026, the government proposed setting up dedicated Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to recycle real estate assets of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) as part of the Budget’s asset-monetisation framework. “Particularly, the government’s move today to unlock the value of land with the public sector and enterprises will go a long way in monetising those assets over a period of time,” Munot said.
Munot said both REITs and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) are poised to become mainstream investment vehicles as India deepens its capital markets and broadens household participation.“I strongly believe that both REITs as well as the infrastructure investment trust are going to be significant asset classes,” he said.
Highlighting the broader financialisation opportunity, Munot pointed to the large pool of household wealth currently parked in physical assets such as property and precious metals.
“This large amount of household wealth, which is locked into real estate, gold and silver, I would be happy at some point if we also find ways to monetise the gold and silver, and then bring that into more productive usage — in the stock market, into the capital market,” he said.
Market participants said a combination of regulatory reforms, tax clarity, stable yield structures and increased institutional participation could help REITs mirror the trajectory seen in global markets, where they have evolved into a core portfolio allocation for both retail and institutional investors.