AT A GLANCE:
- Advancing to 33rd globally in 2026 from 41st in 2024, Abu Dhabi is the world’s most improved market in real estate transparency
- ADREC’s rollout of publicly accessible dashboards, unit-level interactive maps and open APIs has elevated market clarity for investors
- ADREC has set an ambition to position Abu Dhabi among the world’s 25 most transparent real estate markets by 2030, while continuing to push for strong progress against global peers
- To sustain this momentum, Abu Dhabi must target advanced AI-driven market intelligence, expanded data for alternative sectors such as data centres and life sciences, and stricter building performance standards
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)s comprehensive digital transformation. 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.
