Global real estate transparency index 2026: India insights

India climbs from 31st to 26th in JLL's 2026 Global Real Estate Transparency Index, marking it as Asia Pacific's top improver and among the top five most improved markets globally. Direct investment volumes hit USD 8.1 billion—a 20-year high—as digitised land registries, RERA maturity, and rapid REIT market expansion reshape India's transparency profile. This isn't isolated progress. It's part of a broader structural shift: two-thirds of the 88 countries tracked globally have registered transparency gains, even as the gap between leading and lagging markets widens further.

Thirteen "highly transparent" countries command 56% of global income-producing real estate and over 80% of direct investment, with transaction volumes in this group rising 64% since 2024—outpacing the rest of the world by 20 percentage points. Geopolitical conflict, AI's disruption of workforce and business models, energy pressures, and shifting supply chains have become structural features of the global economy, making transparency more essential than ever for navigating risk.

Asia Pacific leads the improvement momentum, accounting for half of the top 10 global improvers: India, Vietnam, South Korea, Australia, and Thailand, in that order. Four Gulf markets also rank among top improvers, reflecting sustained government focus on transparency and institutionalisation.

India topped the 2024 GRETI global improver list, with its Tier 1 markets debuting in the transparent tier for the first time. This year, India extends that momentum—fourth most improved over 10 years, third most improved over 20 years.

What's driving the climb:

• Government-led digitisation of data availability and infrastructure
• Progressive market institutionalisation
• Rapid expansion of the listed real estate sector
• Direct investment flows reaching USD 8.1 billion in the last 12 months—an unprecedented level over two decades
   

India's global rank improved from 31st to 26th, placing it firmly in the middle of the "transparent" tier, with gains registered across all six sub-indices.

Regulatory and legal: the strongest gain
 

Global rank improves from 37th to 19th; APAC rank rise from 9th to 6th; scores improve from 2.23 to 1.69—one of the strongest gains across all parametres. Digitisation of land registries, RERA framework maturity, and FDI liberalisation have reduced transaction friction and strengthened investor confidence. NUDM and the NAKSHA pilot under DILRMP are using GIS and drone mapping to verify land parcels.

Room to improve: Land pooling remains early-stage; Master Plans are still progressing through approval rather than full rollout; dispute resolution timelines remain slow in many jurisdictions.

Sustainability: measured but meaningful progress
 

Global rank improves from 29th to 27th; scores improve from 3.14 to 3.05. SEBI's BRSR framework is now mandatory for the top 1,000 listed companies; the 2025 National Green Building Mission introduced performance-based energy standards. Green-certified Grade A office stock rose from ~39% to 66% between 2020 and H1 2026, commanding a 10-15% rental premium.

Room to improve: Scope 3 reporting remains voluntary; nature and biodiversity risk reporting is largely

Market fundamentals: data depth improving, but pace lags peers
 

Score improves from 1.95 to 1.88; APAC rank holds at 7th, though global rank has slipped slightly from 13th to 14th—peer markets improved data infrastructure at a marginally faster pace. Industrial/logistics data collection has deepened alongside the already-strong office sector.

Room to improve: Alternative sector coverage (life sciences, co-living, senior living) remains underdeveloped; data depth varies significantly across secondary cities.

Listed vehicles: REIT stock nearly doubles
 

Global rank improves from 36th to 35th; scores improve from 2.29 to 2.22. Operational office REIT stock grew from 104 million sq ft (2024) to 164 million sq ft (2026)—a 58% increase. India's office REIT market now represents ~18% of Grade A stock, with REIT-worthy assets at ~46% of current stock, signaling strong future growth potential.

Room to improve: No market-wide database exists for appraisal assumptions like discount rates or residual values; no index compares listed versus unlisted returns.

Investment performance: capital base broadening
 

Global rank holds steady at 40th; scores improve from 3.46 to 3.42. Private equity investment reaches USD 10.5 billion in 2025 (+17% y-o-y), continuing into H1 2026 at USD 4.3 billion (+25% y-o-y).

Room to improve: No reliable market-wide property performance index exists; unlisted funds lack standardised returns and benchmark indices.

Transaction process: India's leading parameter, holding strong
 

Global rank holds steady at 10th; APAC rank unchanged at 3rd; scores improve from 1.18 to 1.15. Service charge reconciliation practices advance from "good" to "high" in accuracy and detail, driven by institutional ownership and MNC occupier demands.

Room to improve: Standardised data rooms and tenant audit rights remain concentrated in gateway cities rather than scaling to secondary markets.

Data centres stand out as one of the most improved alternative sectors globally in data availability over 2024-26. India's market now tracks granular metrics: mid-year 2026 inventory at 1,637 MW, vacancy at 2.8%, absorption at 100 MW, and completions at 84.9 MW. Under-construction capacity stands at 4,317 MW, with a planned pipeline of 15,000 MW.

Regulatory evolution across three fronts:

• Data protection: DPDP Act phased compliance—Data Protection Board established by November 2025, Consent Manager obligations by November 2026, full compliance including breach reporting and cross-border transfer rules by May 2027
• Investment policy: Union Budget 2026-27 introduced a 20-year tax holiday for foreign cloud service providers through March 2047, with a 15% safe harbour margin reducing transfer-pricing litigation risk
• Energy policy: India targets 500 GW of renewable capacity by 2030 and plans to nearly triple nuclear capacity to 22.38 GW by 2031-32, supported by a Nuclear Energy Mission targeting 100 GW by 2047

India is positioned as Asia's fastest-growing digital infrastructure market, with capacity set to nearly quadruple from 1.6 GW to 6 GW by 2029, requiring USD 110 billion in capital. Global hyperscalers have committed over USD 50 billion toward AI-ready facilities, with self-build accounting for nearly 30% of new capacity. Supply has grown at a 60% CAGR since 2021—execution speed increasingly rivalling established global markets. Coverage remains concentrated in established hubs: Mumbai and Chennai together accounted for 98% of H1 2026 supply.

Five priorities will determine how fast India closes the remaining gap:

1. Deeper, long-term performance disclosures across fund and return types—matching data depth beyond core office to alternative asset classes
2. Improving credit market data, including origination, maturity profiles, and financing conditions
3. Verified building performance metrics across India's entire building stock, not just new construction
4. Real-time energy intelligence and grid capacity visibility to drive the next investment cycle
5. Leveraging AI to democratise private capital access to real estate
    

India stands at a rare inflection point. Its listed market growth, benchmarking maturity, and sustainability disclosures are converging to compound momentum. The AI and data centre wave isn't just a tailwind—it's the catalyst that can propel India's real estate markets onto the global institutional stage, provided its frameworks scale at the speed of opportunity.