Abu Dhabi has been recognised as the world’s leading improver in JLL’s 2026 Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI), rising eight places from 41st in 2024 to 33rd globally with a composite score of 2.42, and topping the list of 88 countries and 146 city markets evaluated across 260 distinct factors.
The emirate’s strides in transparency reflect its sustained progress and growing competitiveness in governance, regulatory maturity and market institutionalisation.
This is driven directly by a strategic focus on economic diversification and the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre’s (ADREC) comprehensive digital transformation, said JLL in its statement.
Key initiatives that have elevated the benchmark for clarity in Abu Dhabi’s real estate market include the launch of publicly accessible dashboards for real-time property and market data, interactive maps detailing unit-level transactions and service charges, and open APIs enabling seamless data integration.
Combined with the government’s focus on strengthening regulatory frameworks to safeguard investor interests and digitising services as part of its long-term institutionalisation strategy, these measures have secured Abu Dhabi’s position among the Gulf region’s transparency leaders alongside Dubai and Saudi Arabia.
Expanding this data availability and ensuring a secure, structured framework supports a more predictable investment journey, boosting the emirate’s appeal as a prime destination for global capital.
The next stage will continue to focus on access to trusted market information, digital real estate services and transactions, and the areas where Abu Dhabi can make further progress against the global benchmark.
Rashed Al Omaira, Director General of Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC), said: "Being recognised as the world’s leading improver in real estate transparency is an important achievement for Abu Dhabi and a measure of the progress made across the market. That progress has been built on stronger governance, investor protection and better access to trusted market information."
"The next phase will be defined by what markets can do with that information. The markets that lead in transparency will increasingly be those that can turn trusted data into earlier insight on demand, risk and performance. At ADREC, our focus is to use advanced analytics and AI to deepen that market intelligence and support better long-term decisions as we work to place Abu Dhabi among the world’s 25 most transparent real estate markets by 2030," he stated.
"To further cement its position among top global markets, Abu Dhabi must focus on deepening its competitive advantages through enhanced AI adoption and technology-driven analytics, which are a differentiating factor of highly transparent markets," noted Al Omaira.
This includes expanding data availability across alternative sectors such as data centres, life sciences, and student housing, where transparency remains very low. These segments now account for 20% of global transaction volumes, and the expanding investable universe heightens the need for higher-quality, comparable data to make informed decisions and manage risk, he added.
By strengthening building performance standards and energy transparency frameworks, Abu Dhabi can further align with highly transparent global markets, where mandatory disclosures and resilience planning are standard.
Mouhammad Takieddin, the CEO – Middle East and Africa at JLL, said: "Real estate transparency is crucial to attract foreign investment. Capital flows where there is clarity, strong digital infrastructure, and reliable data. Abu Dhabi’s rapid rise in global competitiveness and market maturity demonstrates the success of an economic vision built on institutional stability, giving global investors the confidence to deploy capital at scale."
James Allan, Country CEO – UAE, Egypt & Africa at JLL, said: "Abu Dhabi’s progress in enforcing strict corporate governance and leveraging technology for reliable data provides the risk mitigation institutional investors require. This reflects ADREC’s commitment to building a more transparent ecosystem."
"By enhancing global trust and embracing the advanced tech adoption that defines highly transparent markets, Abu Dhabi’s achievement gives investors the confidence to assess opportunities and make long-term decisions in a rapidly maturing landscape," he added.-TradeArabia News Service