Real estate transparency key to industry sustainability, says PwC’s David Valenzia

Over the past few months, PwC Malta has been working on Malta’s second contribution to the Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI), as part of a project in collaboration with Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) and Archi+, a local, multidisciplinary firm providing a comprehensive range of services in real estate, design, planning, engineering and management.

Having recently issued its report focused on Malta’s ranking in the GRETI, PwC Malta‘s report revealed that the country still ranked within the list of “Low Transparency” countries, lagging behind other European countries.

The GRETI is an index based on a combination of quantitative market data and survey results, which has been published by JLL since 1999 on a biennial basis. Whilst this year’s index marks the 13th edition, it is the second one that Malta has been included in. The Index scores property markets on a one to five transparency scale (ranging between 1, Highly Transparent to 5, Opaque) and acts as an essential guide for companies operating in foreign markets, as well as a unique benchmark of real estate market transparency.

In this year’s edition of the GRETI, Malta has been attributed a score of 3.54 and placed 58th among the 89 participating countries which include countries within the EU such as France, The Netherlands, Germany and Sweden and other non-EU countries such as Mauritius, Puerto Rico, Morocco and Botswana. Malta’s results in this year’s edition remain unchanged when compared to the previous edition of the GRETI and in fact Malta continued to rank within the list of “Low Transparency” countries.

While Malta scored well on fronts such as governance of listed vehicles, regulatory and legal aspects, as well as the transaction process; it had a relatively low score in areas such as sustainability, technology and digitisation, and availability of data.

PwC Malta led the compilation of survey results for Malta through consultations with key stakeholders within the public and private sector, including real estate investors, key developers, architects, lawyers, notaries, real estate agents and property managers. The Index, based on JLL’s methodology, focuses on topics such as direct property indices, availability of property data in connection with transactions, valuations, the use of real estate technology in construction and property management (amongst others), real estate tax, land use planning, professional standards of agents, green building regulations and sustainability.

PwC Malta’s Territory Senior Partner, David Valenzia, said, “It is clear that real estate investors gravitate towards more transparent markets with more robust regulatory systems and lower reputational and financial risks. Real estate is an important investment instrument locally and the gradual improvement of real estate transparency will continue to ensure the sustainability of the industry.”

“The results of this survey continue to highlight the areas the country needs to prioritise in moving forward to increase transparency. It is only by working upon identifiable targets that Malta can improve its score and ranking in JLL’s GRETI,” he concluded.

Read PwC Malta’s report by clicking here.