'New Europe' more transparent than other emerging markets - JLL

'New Europe' is at the forefront of transparency compared to other emerging markets, Jones Lang LaSalle has said in its latest Real Estate Transparency Index.

The survey found that the Central and Eastern European markets are led by the Czech Republic and Poland. Both countries have moved from the 'Semi-Transparent' to the 'Transparent' tier since the last survey in 2006.

Romania, Ukraine and Russia are also among the world's most improved markets in terms of transparency. In addition the survey highlighted seven newcomers, including Estonia and Latvia, that already score highly and have been ranked in the 'Semi-Transparent' tier.

Karina Kreja, an associate director in JLL's World Winning Cities research team, commented: 'The steady progression in transparency across ‘New Europe’ over the past two years is closely linked to the force of globalisation that drives investors to move across borders in search of higher risk-adjusted returns. While EU membership has geared further transparency improvements in both pre-accession and accession states of Central and Southern Europe, Russia and Ukraine have seen major changes due to the institutionalisation and internationalisation of their markets.'

The Index demonstrates that the 15 markets in 'New Europe' have been advancing at a rapid pace and are starting to match the transparency levels of Western Europe with 10 countries now classified as 'Semi-Transparent'. According to the findings, EU accession had a major impact on the regulatory and legal standards in Czech Republic and Poland. Real estate investment volumes exceeded EUR 5 bn in both 2006 and 2007, compared to EUR 340 mln in 1999.

Romania, which joined EU in 2007, showed the greatest improvement in 'New Europe', with increased transparency in areas of land title, planning, and building codes. As a result Romania as now moved up to the 'Semi-Transparent' tier. The survey also found that index newcomer Bulgaria is now performing marginally better than Romania in terms of transparency.

These significant moves in transparency can also be attributed to the fast economic growth witnessed by several markets, the report found.