Limited stock level hits Saudi Q3 real estate activity, says expert

Limited stock level hits Saudi Q3 real estate activity, says expert

Lack of stock availability had impacted activity levels in Saudi Arabia’s real estate sector during the third quarter of the year, according to CBRE, a global real estate consultancy firm.

Looking at Saudi Arabia’s office sector figures, the majority of activity remains centered towards Riyadh, with occupancy levels now reaching 99.0% and 98.7% for Grade A and Grade B stock respectively, stated CBRE in its Saudi Arabia Real Estate Market Review Q3 2022.

Constrained supply levels have continued to support growth in rental rates, where in the year to September 2022, average Grade A and Grade B rents in Riyadh increased by 5.9% and 3.5% respectively.

In Jeddah, CBRE sees an uptick in demand with most requirements favouring serviced office offerings, as average Grade A rents increased by 8.2% when compared to Q3 2021.

In the Eastern Province, Grade A rents in Dammam and Khobar registered an increase of 3.9% and 8.2% respectively over the same period, it stated.

On the residential sector, CBRE said the transaction volumes fell by 15.5% in Q3 compared to a year earlier, with the total value of transactions also slightly decreasing by 0.8%.

Overall, the number of residential transactions totalled 37,743 and the value of transactions totalled SR25.6 billion ($6.81