The ease of doing business in Australia, with its stable and transparent regulatory and legal system, strong ethical governance and high professional standards, has led to a significant rise in foreign capital inflows for the residential and commercial sectors, according to JLL.

The world’s 10 most transparent markets account for 75 per cent of global direct investment into commercial real estate and are home to nearly half the world’s 2000 largest public companies. Australia has moved up one notch to second place.

The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the United States hold the top positions, while the low transparency and opaque categories include parts of Africa, Asia and South and Central America, which are deemed “development” economies.

The desire for countries that offer good business conduct was borne out by the recent revelations of the Panama Papers, which, property agents and investors say, have led to mounting pressure for greater real estate transparency.

Global uncertainty caused by the recent Brexit vote is also drawing cash out of Britain to other parts of the world including Australia, despite the uncertainty caused by the recent federal election, where no party has yet claimed victory.