India Real Estate Transparency Faces Data Reform Test

India is making measurable progress in real estate transparency, but the next phase will depend on whether better data, planning systems and regulatory standards reach beyond major cities. The shift comes as artificial intelligence, data centres and institutional capital increase demand for reliable information on land, buildings, energy use and infrastructure.

The 2026 Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI) from JLL and LaSalle places India among the world’s fastest-improving markets. India led Asia-Pacific’s transparency gains, while Vietnam, South Korea, Australia and Thailand also featured among the region’s leading improvers. The index covers 88 countries and territories and 146 city markets.The improvement matters because transparency increasingly affects where international capital goes. JLL found that transaction volumes in its 13 highly transparent markets rose 64% over the past two years, outpacing other markets. India has also seen a strong recovery in cross-border real estate activity, alongside Vietnam.

India entered the index’s Transparent tier in 2024, supported by stronger regulation, digitised land records, improved market data and greater institutionalisation of the commercial property sector. The 2026 results suggest that progress has continued, although transparency remains uneven between major metropolitan markets and smaller cities.That unevenness is significant for urban growth. Land pooling, which brings fragmented parcels together for planned development, remains at an early stage in many locations. City master plans can also struggle to move from approval into implementation. Slow dispute resolution and inconsistent contract enforcement can add uncertainty to projects involving multiple landowners, developers and public agencies.Digital planning needs to expand alongside physical development. Wider use of geographic information systems, digital land records and drone-based mapping could help cities establish clearer information on land, infrastructure and development constraints. Such systems can also improve planning for drainage, transport, utilities and climate risks when data is regularly updated and publicly usable.

Sustainability is another transparency test. JLL identifies building energy performance, energy-use tracking and climate-risk reporting as important areas of progress globally. For Indian cities, consistent disclosure could make the environmental performance of buildings easier to compare while helping planners and investors understand exposure to heat, flooding, water stress and unreliable power.The AI and data-centre expansion adds urgency. These facilities require substantial land, electricity, cooling capacity and connectivity. JLL reports that more than 90% of occupiers and investors now use AI tools, increasing the need for reliable property and infrastructure data.The challenge now is to make real estate transparency a city-wide system rather than a feature concentrated in established investment hubs. Better public data, stronger planning implementation and consistent environmental reporting could make urban expansion more predictable while giving communities clearer information about how new development affects land, infrastructure and resources.

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India Real Estate Transparency Faces Data Reform Test