UK and US continue to hold the top two positions in terms of real estate market transparency worldwide. JLL’s 2022 Global Real Estate Transparency Index shows that transparency is continuing to improve across most countries and territories. The Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI), produced jointly by JLL and LaSalle Investment Management, has been charting the evolution of real estate transparency across the globe.

GRETI is an essential guide for cross-border investors, developers and occupiers of real estate as well as government and industry bodies looking for international benchmarks. During these times of heightened uncertainty, transparency is more important than ever as the foundation which allows real estate occupiers, investors and lenders to operate and make decisions with confidence.

The 2022 Index reveals a widening transparency gap between the most transparent countries and the rest. The highly transparent markets are forging ahead on the back of technology adoption, climate action, capital markets diversification and regulatory change. Meanwhile, many other markets are treading water, even regressing, or in some cases, regrettably disappearing off the radar.

The top ranks continue to be held by the Anglophone countries, with the UK and U.S. taking the first and second positions.

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European markets have made the most progress on average since 2020 and now account for six of the twelve ‘Highly Transparent’ countries.

Japan also joins the top tier for the first time, boosted by initiatives to enhance climate risk reporting and meet sustainability targets as well as improvements in data availability, particularly for alternative sectors like life sciences, self-storage and senior housing.

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Elsewhere, the UAE markets of Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the top global improvers in 2022, benefitting from a concerted government focus on increasing market transparency. These changes have helped to push Dubai into the ‘Transparent’ category for the first time.

The 2022 Index covers a wide range of topics that determine how transparent a real estate market is, from investment performance benchmarks and market data to transaction processes and sustainability metrics. The 2022 edition covers 156 cities in 94 countries and territories, presenting a uniquely global picture of real estate transparency.