{"id":9336,"date":"2026-06-07T10:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T04:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/money\/?p=9336"},"modified":"2026-06-07T10:11:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T04:41:09","slug":"data-centres-or-warehouses-which-investment-could-deliver-higher-returns-over-the-next-decade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tradebrains.in\/money\/data-centres-or-warehouses-which-investment-could-deliver-higher-returns-over-the-next-decade\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Centres or Warehouses – Which Investment Could Deliver Higher Returns Over the Next Decade?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Synopsis: <\/strong>This article compares warehouses with data centres returns, risk and growth potential and the asset class that can provide a better long-term real estate return.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Investing in real estate isn’t just about residential and commercial homes anymore. India’s digital infrastructure and the current trend of modern supply chains in the Indian economy has caused investors to be interested in other asset classes, such as data centres and warehouses. From cloud computing to artificial intelligence and increasing data demands, data centres are becoming a high-growth area for warehouses, which have always been strong in e-commerce and logistics.<\/p>

\"scapia<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Understanding the two asset classes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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  • Warehouses:<\/strong> A warehouse is a large industrial building with a space of roughly 2000 square feet, the products are stored, sorted and loaded out in bulk. They are the backbone of modern supply chains and are used in a variety of industries such as e-commerce, manufacturing, retail, and third-party logistics (3PL). Warehouse space demand is mainly fueled by growth in consumption, shorter delivery timeframes and by the need for effective inventory management.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Data Centres<\/strong>: Data centres are dedicated facilities with servers, storage devices, and networking gear needed for data processing and storage. They enable cloud computing, artificial intelligence, streaming services, fintech platforms and enterprise operations. Power, cooling systems, fibre connections, security needs etc. are all costly investments made in data centres, making it one of the most technologically advanced real estate asset classes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Market Growth<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Warehouses<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The warehousing industry is one of the fastest-growing parts of industrial real estate in India. Overall, the top 8 cities had 36.9 million sq.ft.<\/strong> of leasing activity in 2025, a 16% increase from a year ago, with 3PL, manufacturing, and e-commerce companies being the largest contributors. The trend reversed in 2026 with Transactions in the warehouse segment up 15% YoY to 19.3 Million sq. ft. in Q1 2026<\/strong> alone. The cities of Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune are still definitely in the race for the occupation, due to their strong connectivity and consumption base. Modern grade A warehouses rent for \u20b920 to \u20b935 per sq. ft. per month<\/strong> depending on the specifications and location and can be viewed as a regular source of income generation asset class. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Data Centres<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The data centre industry is also expanding at an even faster pace, given the increasing trend of data localisation laws, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and the booming Indian digital economy. India’s operational capacity in data centres reach above 1 GW with capacity expected to be at around 1,123 MW by H1 2025<\/strong>. The capacity will rise by 77% to 1,825 MW by 2027<\/strong>, which will need almost 9.3 million sq. ft.<\/strong> of real estate space and investment of billions of dollars, JLL reports. The industry estimates that capacity will be increased to 8 GW by 2030<\/strong>, building upon the more than $30 billion investment<\/strong>. The sector’s allure is its long-term demand visibility and AI workloads are forecast to make a big contribution to the sector’s future demand.<\/p>