Singapore overtakes Hong Kong as the most transparent real estate in Asia

Singapore kept its 13th place finish in the newly released Global Real Estate Transparency Index 2014 published by consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

However, Hong Kong slipped to 14th place from 2012’s 11th place, making the tiny city-state the most transparent real estate market in Asia. JLL explains Hong Kong’s downgrade to lower scores caused by cooling measures initiated by the government as well as in accounting standards and corporate government.

It is the second time that Singapore ranked higher than Hong Kong since JLL started to publish the index in 1999. The 2014 study covers 102 markets globally.

JLL said, “All countries in emerging South East Asia have seen some advances (but less significant than 2012 when the sub-region accounted for 3 out of the top 10 global improvers). Greater availability of market data compared to 2012’s improvement, while incremental changes in the regulatory/legal and transaction processes contribute to both the 2012 and 2014 results.”

The 2014 saw the addition of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, which placed 100th in a field of 102 markets, making it one of the least transparent markets.

JLL said, “Myanmar is more opportunistic currently. Potentially, it would have higher returns. I would even expect double-digit (returns) because of the unpredictability in government regulation.”

Here is the JLL index’s top 20 most transparent real estate markets and their respective scores are:
1. United Kingdom – 1.25
2. United States – 1.34
3. Australia – 1.36
4. New Zealand – 1.44
5. France – 1.52
6. Canada – 1.52
7. The Netherlands – 1.67
8. Ireland – 1.62
9. Finland – 1.69
10. Switzerland – 1.73
11. Sweden – 1.79
12. Germany – 1.79
13. Singapore – 1.81
14. Hong Kong – 1.87
15. Belgium – 1.92
16. Denmark – 1.96
17. Poland – 2.02
18. Spain – 2.05
19. Norway – 2.07
20. South Africa – 2.09