Saudi Arabia’s 15% VAT exemption will help first-time property buyers – JLL

Saudi Arabia’s 15% VAT exemption will help first-time property buyers – JLL

The Saudi Arabian government's decision to exempt property deals from 15 percent VAT and replace it with a new 5 percent tax on transactions will maintain momentum in the residential mortgage sector, according to real-estate services company JLL.In its Q3 2020 performance report on the Saudi real-estate market, JLL outlined the government's decision to also scrap the 5 percent tax for properties worth up to SAR 1 million ($267,000) for first-time homebuyers with the objective of increasing home ownership, a key target of the kingdom's Vision 2030.In Vision 2030, the government hopes to increase home ownership by 60 percent by 2020, and by 70 percent by 2030.“In addition to the positivity injected by the recent government measures, the residential sector also showed strong construction activity in Q3 2020 with around