Transparency deepens in alternative property types
Global Real Estate Transparency Index, 2020
With niche or alternative property types moving into the mainstream, rising institutional investment and greater market data availability has propelled sectors like self-storage, data centers and life sciences to the leading edge of real estate transparency improvement in 2020. The 2020 Index reveals that there has been a step change in investor activity and data coverage of alternative sectors, with institutional investors now active in these sectors in over half of the 99 markets covered.
Global Investment in Alternative Property Types, 2020
Student accommodation and seniors housing are the top two niches for institutional investment
Data collection still a work in progress
Many data providers covering niche property types have been largely focused on already ‘Highly Transparent’ markets. Most countries still have limited niche institutional investment and even less market data. Yet, alternative property types such as data centres, life sciences, cold storage and co-living are among the fastest-growing real estate sectors.
Innovative efforts to respond to the fast-changing market conditions of the current COVID-19 pandemic, such as investor surveys or rent collection rates in niche sectors, have been organised quickly in reaction to the market shock and highlight how sizable alternatives transparency progress is possible when it is made a priority. Looking ahead to the next Transparency Index in 2022, niche property type data is likely to remain a primary driver of future transparency advances.