Saudi Arabia's housing market challenged with soaring prices, high borrowing costs

Al Arabiya

26-02-2025

Saudi Arabia faces growing challenges in its residential real estate market as soaring prices and high borrowing costs cool appetite for home ownership, according to the real estate consultancy Knight Frank.
Demand from first-time buyers looking to purchase a home has slipped to 29 percent from 40 percent in 2023, the firm said, citing a survey of more than 1,000 households.
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Many home buyers believe prices are too high, need more time to save and want more financing options, according to Knight Frank's 2025 Saudi report.
Apartment prices in the capital of Riyadh rose almost 11 percent to the equivalent of about $1,500 per square meter in 2024, according to the research firm.
Saudi Arabia has been investing heavily to build homes in recent years as it seeks to house a growing population and raise ownership rates to 70 percent. Knight Frank has estimated the country needs to build 115,000 homes annually for the next six years to meet demand, but cautions that what is coming to the market doesn't match with the realities of buyer expectations.
'The crux of the issue is the misalignment between buyer expectations and the current pricing or market realities,' Faisal Durrani, head of Middle East research at Knight Frank, said in an interview in the kingdom.
Affordability remains a key concern as budgets for low- and middle-income earners fall short of average ticket prices for homes, according to the firm. Those with deeper pockets may be able to meet prices for new housing, but that segment of the Saudi population is relatively small, it said.
Developers adding to supply include Saudi wealth fund-backed Roshn Group and Dar Global Plc, which recently announced plans to build new luxury projects with the Trump Organization in Riyadh. The National Housing Company, known as NHC, has been tasked with building properties at more affordable price points.
'There is a very real risk of an oversupply of luxury housing in the kingdom over the next five years unless new sources of demand are identified or tapped into, chiefly, international buyer demand,' Durrani said.
Knight Frank anticipates an eventual change in foreign ownership laws will pave the way for investments from abroad in some of Saudi Arabia's new luxury homes.
Currently, foreigners can obtain long-term residency in Saudi Arabia by investing 4 million riyals ($1.1 million) into residential real estate. A recent relaxing of rules on foreign property investment in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina is the strongest signal yet that more loosening may be coming, according to Durrani.
While both cities have drawn strong interest in terms of property ownership, the capital of Riyadh remains the most coveted place to live in the kingdom, Knight Frank said. But it has also seen the most explosive price growth.
The cost of a villa rose more than 6 percent to around $1,400 per square meter last year.
Riyadh is also seeing a shift toward demand to rent versus own as more foreign workers relocate and young nationals migrate from elsewhere in Saudi Arabia. 'Their focus isn't on purchasing a home. It's on renting and that's in short supply,' Durrani said.
He sees 'huge' growth potential in the build-to-rent market for developers and said building more affordable options for purchase will be critical to meeting demand.
'This challenge is not about demand not existing in the Saudi market,' Durrani said. 'It's just that right now we're not building the product to match the demand that exists.'