Transparency has improved in Romania's real estate market, according to a study by consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle. Romania now ranks 40th in the firm's World Transparency Index and was the fourth biggest climber this year. The index groups the results into five categories – Highly-Transparent, Transparent, Semi-Transparent, Low-Transparency, Opaque – and Romania's 40th place puts it in the Semi-Transparent category, along with Slovakia and Croatia.

Overall, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has improved, with several regional states now featuring in the Transparent category along with Western European countries, including Germany and Ireland. Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary all fall in the Transparent category, in 19th, 24th and 26th place respectively. The US occupies the top spot in this year's index, followed by the UK and Australia in second and third place. At the other end of the spectrum, Sudan was rated the least transparent of the the 97 countries studied. Also in the Opaque category were several other African states, Venezuela, Pakistan and Iraq. Belarus was the only regional state to feature in the lowest category, rated 94th for real estate transparency.

According to the report, the gap between the CEE region and Western Europe is narrowing fast and in many cases has closed. The financial crisis and its after effects are credited with improving transparency in the region's real estate markets, as circumstances forced companies to become more accountable for their actions and more open with their accounts.

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com