Israel Ranks 39th Globally in Real Estate Transparency, Lagging Behind Gulf Nations

A new global real estate transparency index reveals that while Israel has seen some improvement in its market's transparency, it has fallen behind Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, which have surpassed it in the rankings. Israel maintained its 39th position out of 88 countries in the 2026 JLL Global Real Estate Transparency Index, despite a slight improvement in its score to 2.71 from 2.79 in the previous index. However, Saudi Arabia climbed to 35th place with a score of 2.52, and Abu Dhabi rose to 33rd with a score of 2.42, both now categorized in the group of markets with high transparency, one tier above Israel.

The index, published every two years by JLL and LaSalle Investment Management, assesses real estate market transparency based on factors like transaction data availability, rental information, regulation, and property performance. The current edition is the 14th since 1999. While Israel's score improved, narrowing the gap to the high transparency threshold, other countries, particularly in the Gulf, have advanced more rapidly. JLL attributes the progress in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai to expanded databases, digitization of government services, and regulatory changes, including enhanced data on rental fees and sales prices in Saudi Arabia, and real-time information accessibility in Dubai.

This disparity in transparency has significant economic implications. The report indicates that markets with very high or high transparency attract approximately 98.5% of global direct real estate investments, while medium transparency markets, where Israel is situated, attract only 1.3%. Investors prioritize reliable information for risk assessment and decision-making, and transparency is seen as a competitive infrastructure. Markets with very high transparency also saw a 64% increase in transaction volume since the last index, significantly outpacing the global average.

The findings emerge amidst a domestic debate in Israel regarding public access to real estate transaction data. A new website aimed at making government databases, including the Tax Authority's real estate transaction data, more accessible has faced challenges due to the authority's limitations on data extraction. The Tax Authority's director explained these limitations were initially set to balance transparency with privacy. Previous reports by the State Comptroller and the Appraisers' Council have also highlighted deficiencies in data collection and dissemination, causing difficulties for professionals and the public in obtaining up-to-date market information.