Real estate in Saudi Arabia - statistics & facts
Saudi Arabia's real estate market is transforming at an unprecedented pace, offering unparalleled opportunities for investors and developers alike. From futuristic cities like NEOM to hubs in Riyadh and Jeddah, the kingdom is witnessing a dynamic change in the real estate market. The value of the Saudi Arabian real estate industry was forecast to amount to 161.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. It is currently generating 9.4 percent of the kingdoms’ non-oil gross domestic product.
As Islamic law is the leading fundament of Saudi Arabian legislation, it is also applied to the finance sector, inheritance, and property law. For the real estate industry, Shariah guidelines are followed in the financing of asset portfolios, loans, and mortgages.
It is a similar situation in terms of available retail real estate, where Riyadh led with three million square meters, followed by two million in Jeddah and 1.16 million square meters in the Dammam Metropolitan Area.
Residential real estate
As the country with the largest population within the Gulf Cooperation Council region, in the fourth quarter of 2023, there were roughly 767 thousand real estate loans issued in Saudi Arabia. This was around 20,000 more than the previous quarter, and the largest number of loans issued in the country between the second quarter of 2020 and the final quarter of 2023. According to the latest data available, the majority of residents in Saudi Arabia dwell in apartments, followed by villas. Only around 665 thousand people in Saudi Arabia live in traditional Arabic houses, which contain a traditional inner courtyard surrounded by rooms with small windows to protect them from the desert heat.Commercial real estate
The capital city of Riyadh has the leading stock of available office real estate at over 4.23 million square meters. This was followed by Jeddah at 1.29 million and the Dammam Metropolitan Area at 1.25 million square meters.It is a similar situation in terms of available retail real estate, where Riyadh led with three million square meters, followed by two million in Jeddah and 1.16 million square meters in the Dammam Metropolitan Area.
