India has emerged a bright spot for international capital, with overseas investments in real estate registering a staggering surge of 137 per cent, from $3.2 billion during 2011-13 to $7.6 billion during 2014-16.

Tracking inflows across different markets, consultancy firm Knight Frank found that by 2018, more than 30 per cent of the total global real-estate transactions in India will be cross-border.

Gulam Zia, Executive Director - Advisory, Retail and Hospitality, Knight Frank, India, in a statement said Mumbai attracted the biggest pie of foreign investments in 2016, accounting for at least 39 per cent of capital flow in real estate.

Bengaluru topped the chart with 11 per cent, followed by Chennai (10 per cent) and Delhi (4 per cent). Office space and retail together accounted for 72 per cent of the foreign investments in 2016.

According to the report, more opportunistic capital is chasing emerging markets such as India, China and parts of Central and Eastern Europe.

According to the report, international capital is looking at momentum cities such as Bangkok, Bengaluru and Sydney. While Asian investors contributed $67 billion in overseas investment globally, European investors have not returned to the levels of overseas investment seen pre-global financial crisis. Accounting for over 40 per cent of investments, the US held the largest share of foreign investors, followed by Canada (18 per cent) and Singapore (17 per cent).