News for the Hospitality Executive |
MENA, June 27, 2012 — A biennial index
released today by
Jones Lang
LaSalle
and LaSalle Investment
Management
(NYSE:JLL) reveals that recovering real estate markets
have prompted
renewed impetus to transparency improvements following a slowdown in
progress
during the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009.
Nearly 90% of markets have registered advances in real
estate
transparency during the past two years, driven by improving market
fundamentals
data and performance measurement, combined with better governance of
listed
vehicles.
The 2012 Global Real Estate Transparency Index, a proprietary Jones Lang LaSalle survey that calculates transparency in 97 real estate markets worldwide by weighting 83 different factors, provides investors and corporate occupiers with data and analysis critical to transacting, owning and operating in global markets. The Index also assists governments and other industry organizations interested in improving transparency. Key Findings:
“More needs to be done to increase the level of transparency of the market both in Dubai and across the broader region, particularly in respect of investment performance indicators and data on market fundamentals. The lack of progress on these areas in recent years has contributed to the low level of investment activity and the oversupply that is currently being experienced in some sectors of the market. We expect to see more improvement in transparency over the next few years as policy makers recognise this will attract greater demand from overseas investors and occupiers familiar with higher levels of transparency and market information. The increased focus on sustainability is also likely to result in higher levels of transparency and disclosure.” Transparency Drivers:
While some improvements have been recorded since 2010, the Middle East and Africa remains the least transparent of the 4 global regions covered in the Index. Areas where the MEA region scores particularly poorly include the lack of investment performances indices and the lack of available data on market fundamentals. Global Transparency Index (2012) by region Real Estate Transparency 2012 – Composite Index by Region Lebanon
has seen the greatest improvement in transparency within the MENA
region over
the past 2 years, although this market is currently experiencing some
instability due to events in neighbouring Syria. The strong performance
of the
Beirut market has attracted greater interest from overseas investors
and has
led to a greater awareness and more market data becoming available. The
creation of
the Real Estate Association of Lebanon and stricter controls on lending
by the
Central Bank have also contributed to the improvement in transparency.
At the other extreme, eight of the eleven opaque markets globally are found in the MEA region. While current levels of transparency remains poor in markets such as Sudan, Pakistan, Iraq and Algeria, there is increased interest from international corporate occupiers in these emerging markets and this is likely to result in an improvement in transparency levels over the next few years. Real Estate Sustainability Transparency Index:
In recognition of the increasing relevance of environmental sustainability in real estate decisions, the 2012 Index includes a separate Real Estate Sustainability Transparency Index for a sub-set of 28 countries, covering issues such as energy efficiency benchmarking and green building rating systems. The United Kingdom, Australia and France have emerged as the most transparent markets in terms of real estate sustainability while Dubai is one of the lowest. The 2012 results also reaffirm the relationship between real estate investment volumes and transparency. Rising levels of transparency are associated with higher levels of foreign direct real estate investment, a powerful incentive for encouraging the free flow of information as well as the fair and consistent application of local property laws. The world’s fastest-growing direct commercial real estate investment markets during the past two years – such as Brazil, Turkey, Indonesia and Vietnam – are all among the world’s top 10 transparency improvers. About the Global Real Estate Transparency Index The Global
Real Estate Transparency Index, first published in 1999, is based on a
combination of quantitative market data and information gathered
through a
survey of the global business network of Jones Lang LaSalle and LaSalle
Investment Management. For each market a total of 83 separate factors
have been
assessed, through data collection and survey questions, answered by
local
research teams in collaboration with business leaders. These 83 factors
are
grouped into 13 topic areas and further grouped into five sub-index
categories
– a) performance measurement, b) market fundamentals c) governance of
listed
vehicles d) regulatory and legal and e) transaction process. A
Composite Index
for each market is created from the weighted scores of the 83 factors.
The
scores range on a scale from 1.0 to 5.0. A country or market with a
perfect 1.0
score has total real estate transparency; a country with a 5.0 score
has total
real estate opacity. Countries/markets are assigned to a one of five
transparency levels ranging from Highly-Transparent, Transparent and
Semi-Transparent to Low-Transparency and Opaque.
For investors,
the Index provides a risk management tool by offering comparative
information
across multiple geographies, facilitating informed global/regional
investment
strategies and country target allocations. The Index enables corporate
occupiers to more efficiently assess different real estate operating
environments across the globe. Transparent markets allow for easier
comparison
of occupancy costs; provide more options for strategic action (e.g. the
execution of sale and leasebacks); and raise the efficiency of
transactions and
facilities management.
In addition to the new sustainability sub-set, the 2012 index has been enhanced in three main areas. The 2012 edition:
About
Jones Lang LaSalle MENA
Across the Middle East, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, Jones Lang LaSalle is a leading player in the real estate market and hospitality services market. The firm has worked in 35 Middle Eastern and African countries and has advised clients on more than US$ 1 trillion worth of real estate, hospitality and infrastructure developments. Jones Lang LaSalle employs over 100 internationally qualified real estate and hospitality professionals of 30 nationalities with regional offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah and Cairo. About Jones Lang LaSalle Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL) is a financial and professional services firm specializing in real estate. The firm offers integrated services delivered by expert teams worldwide to clients seeking increased value by owning, occupying or investing in real estate. With 2011 global revenue of US$ 3.6 billion, Jones Lang LaSalle serves clients in 70 countries from more than 1,000 locations worldwide, including 200 corporate offices. The firm is an industry leader in property and corporate facility management services, with a portfolio of approximately 2.1 billion square feet worldwide. LaSalle Investment Management, the company’s investment management business, is one of the world’s largest and most diverse in real estate with US$ 47.2 billion of assets under management.
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