In what can be described as a challenging year for the real estate market in the region, a recent index by JLL offers optimism for the market, revealing that Dubai and Abu Dhabi are among the most transparent real estate marks in the MENA region.
JLL’s Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI) 2020, which provides a reliable measure of real estate market transparency and is a useful indicator of a city’s overall ‘real estate investment health, was released on the back of the Cityscape's Real Estate Summit, which took place at Dubai World Trade Centre.
Thierry Delvaux, CEO, JLL Middle East and Africa (MEA) one of the speakers at the event, said: “Our GRETI report this year is being launched at a time of massive economic and societal disruption. As governments and businesses recover from the impact of COVID-19, questions around transparency and trust have been bought into even sharper focus.”
“During times of such uncertainty, the need for transparent processes and accurate, timely data becomes more important than ever. The findings of our report provide reasons for optimism with the current disruption forcing the pace of change.”
According to the report, the most significant initiative launched in 2019, and a key contributor to Dubai’s ranking, was the creation of an official residential transaction-based index, Mo’asher, by the Dubai Land Department (DLD) in partnership with a private sector entity.
For Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, emerged as a top performer globally.
“Among the many initiatives introduced, the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment signed a pledge with the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), a financial Freezone, to embed sustainable finance policies in the UAE, contributing to the emirate’s ranking. The policies cover all forms of corporate and investment financial services which yield environmental, social, and economic benefits,” added Dana Salbak, Head of Research, MENA at JLL and a speaker at this year’s Cityscape's Real Estate Summit.