APAC leads growth in global real estate transparency

Australia and New Zealand placed second and seventh in the global transparency rankings.

Property technology (proptech) in Asia Pacific advanced the region's lead in terms of global real estate transparency as Australia (2nd) and New Zealand (7th) were amongst the most transparent countries for property technology (proptech), alongside US and UK, JLL revealed.

The Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI) 2018 found that APAC countries including Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan could advance in the area through proptech adoption. The three countries, together with Taiwan, Malaysia, and South Korea are under GRETI 2018’s Transparent tier.

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“The proptech sector is growing fast, especially in Asia, though adoption is still relatively low compared to North America and Europe,” JLL global research director Jeremy Kelly said.

China, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Philippines, and Macau belonged to the semi-transparent tier. Meanwhile, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar were ranked in the low transparency tier.

According to JLL Asia Pacific head of research Megan Walters, APAC’s record of leading transparency improvements for the past 2 years is supported by developments in Myanmar, Macau, Thailand, India, and South Korea.

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The study also noted that both Singapore and Hong Kong could also improve on sustainability transparency by strengthening energy efficiency requirements, carbon reporting, and stricter energy consumption. Such measures have already been adopted by Japan which has become a global leader in terms of sustainability transparency.

“Macau has also advanced with a focus on anti-money laundering, resulting in increased monitoring by financial regulators,” Walters said. “It’s also worth noting that India’s reform-driven government has made significant progress in its agenda to improve transparency and reduce corruption.”