The Saudi Arabian property landscape has seen modest growth, as indicated by a 0.7 percent increase in the real estate price index for 2023, primarily fueled by gains in the residential market, according to official statistics.
Residential property prices rose by 1.1 percent over the previous year, with land plot costs climbing by 1.2 percent. Furthermore, the price of apartments ascended by 0.8 percent compared to the prior year.
Contrastingly, the costs for houses saw a slight decrease of 0.1 percent, and villa expenses dropped by 3.2 percent. The commercial sector, overall, experienced a negligible reduction of 0.1 percent in real estate prices compared to the previous year.
Commercial buildings and centers, however, showed price stability with no significant changes reported in 2023. The agricultural real estate sector also reflected a downward adjustment of 0.3 percent in prices.
The Fourth Quarter Real Estate Index for 2023 indicated a stable growth of 0.2 percent over the same quarter of the previous year. This modest rise was chiefly due to a 0.6 percent increase in residential property prices.
The minor decreases in commercial real estate, by 0.5 percent, and agricultural sector, by 0.1 percent, helped maintain a balanced rise in the overall index. The predominance of the residential sector played a pivotal role in impacting the general index.
Sequentially, the general real estate price index inched up by 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 when compared to the third quarter.
At a recent forum, Abdullah Saud Al-Hammad, the CEO of Saudi Arabia’s Real Estate Authority, spoke of the nation’s real estate sector undergoing significant changes, underscoring its role as a fundamental economic pillar and contributor to the Kingdom’s GDP.
Additionally, Ahmed Al-Rajhi, the country’s minister of human resources and social development, highlighted the sector’s burgeoning influence on job creation and sectoral progress within the Kingdom.