Sign in
The percentage of Saudi households that own a home in the Kingdom hit 63.75% last year, beating the government’s target of 63% for the year, according to the Housing Program’s annual report (pdf). The share of Saudi families owning homes is up 16.7 percentage points from 2016 — the year that marks the start of the Kingdom’s economic diversification strategy.
(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background and outside sources.)
Bringing it closer to 2030 targets: This puts homeownership closer to the 70% target for 2030, according to the report.
Some snapshots:
- Over 96k families were provided with financial assistance to buy homes under the government’s housing initiative Sakani;
- Over 20k families benefited from ownership options under the developmental housing program;
- Some 10.9k signed contracts for off-plan site sales;
- Refinancing in real estate financing portfolios has reached SAR 36.5 bn by the end of 2023 across 87 portfolios;
How the gov’t is doing it: The government has rolled out several initiatives, including the Housing Ministry’s Sakani program, zero-interest mortgages from the Real Estate Development Fund, and a lower tax of 5% on real estate sales, and a 2.5% tax on undeveloped land. PIF-owned Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company has acquired mortgages worth c. SAR 26.7 bn, representing 5% of local banks’ mortgage lending book.
Lots of pressure on developers: Developers need to ramp up supply to meet growing demand, as the country’s population is on track to grow, with the share of expats rising to 50% from a current 42% by 2030, according to a recent report by S&P Global. Riyadh is poised to see the fastest population growth, putting more pressure on the capital’s already-tight real estate market, where “new supply will likely not meet the incremental demand.”
