Jones Lang LaSalle’s Global Transparency Index shows that India has surged perceptibly ahead in its real estate transparency ranking, with the country’s tier I cities currently ranked 41 among nations surveyed The 2010 Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI) released recently by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) and LaSalle Investment Management revealed a worldwide slowdown in the progress of real estate transparency over the past 2 years. The survey suggests that the recent turmoil in global financial, economic and real estate markets has impacted market behaviour, with property developers focusing on survival rather than market advancement. The average improvement in real estate transparency across the 81 markets covered by the survey has halved in 2008-10, when compared to the 2006-08 and 2004-06 period.
“The latest transparency index reveals that India has yet again surged ahead in its real estate transparency ranking. Currently, the country’s tier I cities are ranked 41 among the nations surveyed, while the tertiary cities have graduated from low-transparency to semi-transparent tier level. Moreover, Indian cities in each tier are now considered slightly more transparent than their Chinese counterparts,” states Abhishek Kiran Gupta, head (Research & REIS operations) of Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM).
Highly transparent markets
 Australia now ranks as the world’s most transparent market, pushing Canada to the second spot, while the UK is in the third position. The traditional leading pack – Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the US and Canada – have now been caught up by a number of European markets. Sweden, Ireland and France now sit among the world’s most transparent markets.
The Asia-Pacific region has shown most broadly-based improvements in transparency over the past 2 years. Australia and New Zealand are the region’s most transparent markets, closely followed by Singapore and Hong Kong. However, it is in India and China where the region’s greatest advances have been recorded, a trend that has now filtered across each of their secondary and tertiary cities. Asia-Pacific also continues to show some of the biggest anomalies, with both Japan and South Korea showing low levels of real estate transparency relative to their economic maturity.
Improving markets
Around 9 of the 15 fastest improvers are in Europe and the remaining 6 are in the Asia-Pacific region, including 3 each from India and China. Countries with lower investor interest levels—comprising Turkey, Poland, Greece and others—have witnessed remarkable improvement since 2008.
The Americas markets have shown more modest changes in transparency. Improvements have been static in the region’s two most transparent markets, the US and Canada, as well as in most of the Latin American markets. Of the major economies in Latin America, only Brazil has registered notable progress.
On the heels of the global crisis, real estate transparency levels in one-third of the countries are static or declining.
“India’s real estate market is rapidly shedding the elements that were part of a less mature system,” says Anuj Puri, chairman and country head of JLLM. “The increasing transparency levels are a reliable indicator that the country is fast adapting the ways in which real estate business is conducted in more developed countries. The result is that Indian real estate is gaining swiftly in international credibility, and this in turn is boosting investor confidence levels,” adds Mr Puri.
 About GRETI
JLL’s GRETI, which quantifies property market transparency across 81 markets worldwide, is updated every 2 years and has been charting the steady progress in global real estate transparency since 1999. The index aims to help real estate investors, corporate, occupiers and retailers understand important differences when transacting, owning and operating in foreign markets. Besides, it is a helpful gauge for governments and industry organisations that are interested in improving transparency in their home markets. Currently, the index is available with enhanced interactive features on the Web: www.joneslanglasalle.com/Transparency
A report by global property advisory firm Jones Lang LaSalle |
