Saudi Arabia’s real estate market continued its upward trend in late 2024, with a 3.6% rise in the property price index compared to the previous year, as revealed by official statistics.
The residential sector was the primary driver of this growth, showing a 3.1% increase from the same quarter in 2023, according to the General Authority for Statistics.
This price index, a crucial indicator, tracks property price changes across the nation based on transaction data.
Enhancing the real estate sector is a key goal of Vision 2030, which seeks to establish Saudi Arabia as a leading tourism and business hub.
Projections from the Real Estate General Authority estimate the market will reach $69.51 billion in 2024 and expand to $101.62 billion by 2029, growing at an annual rate of 8%.
Residential land plots, which make up 45.7% of the index, rose by 2.5%, while apartment prices increased by 2.9%, and villa prices surged by 6.5%. However, residential floor prices slightly declined by 0.7% year-on-year.
The commercial sector saw a 5% increase, mainly due to a 5.2% rise in commercial land plot prices. Meanwhile, building prices increased by 5.1%, but gallery and shop prices fell by 1.7%.
Agricultural property prices rose by 2.8% compared to the previous year.
Regional Trends
In Riyadh, real estate prices jumped 10.2% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to a year earlier. Najran and Tabuk saw increases of 4.6% and 1.1%, respectively. Conversely, Makkah experienced a 0.6% decline, and the Eastern Province saw a 4.6% drop. Al-Baha and Asir faced significant decreases of 16.7% and 7.3%, respectively.
Quarterly Comparison
Compared to the third quarter of 2024, the overall real estate price index rose by 1.6%, driven by a 1% increase in residential sector expenses. Residential land plots increased by 0.9%, while apartments and villas saw rises of 0.5% and 2.4%, respectively.
Commercial property prices grew by 2.7% quarter-on-quarter, whereas agricultural property prices fell by 9.8%, with a corresponding decrease in agricultural land prices.