A residential building is pictured in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China, on June 26, 2017. (Reuters photo)

Asia-Pacific has made the strongest transparency improvement from 2016 compared to the other four regions covered by the latest study conducted by property consultancy firm JLL.

According to its newly released biannual Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI) 2018, of the world’s top 10 real estate markets that have registered the biggest improvements in transparency, four are from Asia -- Myanmar, Macau, Thailand, and India.

Myanmar has registered the most significant improvement globally, moving up 15 places from the "Opaque" tier to join the "Low Transparency" group. According to the report, the country continues to open up its economy as increasing investor demand translates into greater market intelligence. 

Macau has become a semi-transparent market. The Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China has made progress with a focus on anti-money laundering, resulting in increased monitoring by financial regulators.  

Thailand has enjoyed a four-place rise in the rankings moving up from 38th to 34th. A semi-transparent market, the country is also moving towards the cusp of the next tier of transparency. This is underpinned by greater regulatory enforcement, the planned introduction of a new property tax system and steps to digitise its land registry.

India is the 10th largest transparency improver globally, and 4th regionally. The country’s reform-driven government has made significant progress in its agenda to improve transparency and reduce corruption. The Real Estate Regulatory Act, which was passed in 2016 and implemented in 2017, is a regional highlight. 

"Transparency across Thailand’s real estate markets has continuously improved over the last decade thanks largely to increased availability of and access to market data. While the growth of listed companies and real estate investment vehicles has contributed a lot to improving financial disclosures, greater regulatory enforcement, the planned introduction of a new property tax system and steps to digitise its land registry will underpin the country’s improvement in real estate transparency further."

"The improved level of transparency represents a sign of growing maturity of Thailand’s real estate market. It helps owners, investors and occupiers identify opportunities and anticipate challenges more accurately, and consequently make better real estate decisions," Mrs Suphin adds.

Improvements in transparency in some Asian countries have been accompanied by record-breaking commercial real estate investment volumes. In 2017, real estate transactions in the Asia Pacific region reached a record US$149 billion.

This 10th edition of the Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI) contains the most comprehensive country comparisons of data availability, governance, transaction processes, property rights and the regulatory/legal environment around the world.

The index is updated every two years and has been charting the evolution of real estate transparency across the globe for 20 years. The 2018 Index covers 100 countries and 158 city markets, and the number of individual factors covered has increased by 36% to 186 factors.

To view the global ranking, go to http://www.jll.com/greti/rankings