News / From the associates

The latest edition of JLL’s Global Real Estate Transparency Index, which compares the level of transparency in real estate markets across 88 countries and territories, highlights a growing gap between the most advanced markets—in terms of the availability and quality of information—and the rest of the world. Over the past two years, transaction volumes in the most transparent markets have increased by 64%, while the 13 countries classified as “Highly Transparent” have seen transaction growth that is 20 percentage points higher than in other markets. These countries now account for 56% of global income-generating real estate assets and over 80% of direct investments; when markets classified as “Transparent” are also included, the share exceeds 98% of capital allocated to direct real estate investments. Two-thirds of the countries analyzed have improved their level of transparency, primarily due to the digitization of real estate registries, greater availability of data on alternative sectors, and improved information on energy performance. Key trends also include greater transparency in debt markets and the use of artificial intelligence, which is already employed by over 90% of investors and occupiers.

Transparency is therefore becoming increasingly important in attracting capital and assessing risks, in a market characterized by a broadening investor base and diversified sources of financing. The availability of more comprehensive information applies not only to traditional real estate segments but also to alternative sectors such as data centers and student housing, as well as to credit markets, where a growing number of banks, insurance companies, debt funds, and private credit providers are active. On the energy front, data on consumption, building efficiency, and grid capacity are becoming increasingly important in site selection and asset valuation, particularly in light of the expected growth in global electricity demand, which the International Energy Agency projects will rise by at least 40% by 2035. At the same time, opening up real estate investments to a broader audience of investors and pension funds could mobilize over $800 billion in additional capital by 2030, further increasing the importance of robust valuation methodologies, standardized reporting, and clear information on funds’ liquidity conditions.

Italy maintains its position in the “Transparent” market category, with a score of 2.08—an improvement of 5 basis points compared to 2024, a gain slightly above the global average of 4 basis points. This result comes amid a period of strong growth in real estate investments, which rose by 34% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. In 2025, foreign investors accounted for approximately 63% of real estate investments in Italy, placing the country sixth globally in terms of cross-border direct investments, up from eleventh in 2021. However, there is still room for improvement in the availability of standardized data on alternative sectors, the digitization of urban planning processes, and the transparency of energy performance and ESG metrics. In the first half of 2026, private wealth accounted for 22% of Italian real estate investments, amounting to 1.7 billion euros, compared to 2% in 2020. Enhancing the quality, accessibility, and comparability of information, along with the digitization of processes, will therefore be essential to strengthening the attractiveness of the Italian market, particularly for institutional and international investors.