Singapore climbs to 13th place in global real estate transparency index
The city-state’s ‘highly transparent’ market ranks second in Asia after Japan, boosted by its focus on sustainability and digital services
SINGAPORE has moved up one spot to place 13th in the latest edition of JLL’s Global Real Estate Transparency Index. It also joined the top ranks of highly transparent markets for the first time.
Published on Tuesday (Aug 27), the index benchmarks market transparency to help inform how real estate is invested in, developed, and occupied in different regions across the world. This is measured by a country’s investment performance, market fundamentals, governance of listed vehicles, regulatory and legal frameworks, transaction process and environmental sustainability.
The United Kingdom stayed at the top spot on the list, followed by France in second and the United States in third.
In Asia, Singapore ranked second after Japan, which was in 11th place.
JLL attributed the city-state’s advancement to higher sustainability standards and a stronger focus on integrating technology and digital services through the Real Estate Industry Transformation Map, among other initiatives.
The road map was launched in 2018 and aims to transform the property industry to be future ready. This includes upskilling and strengthening the professionalism of the workforce, as well as facilitating more seamless, efficient and secure property transactions.
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The report noted that so far, a range of programmes have been implemented, including one-stop developer portals as well as the use of modelling and simulation to improve urban planning and design.
On a broader scale, JLL said transparency increased across most markets, with Asia recording the strongest average transparency improvements since 2022.
In terms of investment volumes, the consultancy said the top set of highly transparent markets attracted over US$1.2 trillion in direct commercial real estate investment over the past two years. They also collectively account for over 80 per cent of such investments globally and over 50 per cent of total income-producing real estate.
These countries are positioned to lead the cyclical recovery in liquidity as capital market activity increases, given their low risk and high level of transparency around demand and pricing dynamics, said JLL.
Richard Bloxam, JLL chief executive officer of capital markets, added that investors’ focus on real estate transparency has never been more important.
“External challenges such as geopolitical tensions and election cycles draw increased attention (to transparency) in the near term,” he said. “On the horizon, additional drivers like artificial intelligence and higher standards of sustainability obligations and reporting will continue to push investors to seek greater transparency.
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