Saudi residential boom sees apartment prices climb at fastest pace in five years

Saudi residential boom sees apartment prices climb at fastest pace in five years

Saudi Arabia’s residential marketcontinues to expand at a rapid rate with apartment values in Riyadh and Jeddah showing the fastest pace of growth in five years, according to the latest market analysis by property consultant, Knight Frank.

Knight Frank highlights that Riyadh and Jeddah have seen apartment values accelerate by 17 percent and 12 percent respectively over the last 12 months alone, amid a trend of first-time buyers looking to buy smaller, more affordable units.

Faisal Durrani, partner and head of Middle East Research at Knight Frank, said: ”The government’s drive to boost home ownership rates began in 2016, however house prices only began accelerating in 2019. And in fact, apartment prices in Riyadh have increased by 14.4 percent since 2019.”

Supply of new housing units in Saudi Arabia has also surged as the government’s Sakani and Wafi programs drove the building of affordable housing.

Knight Frank’s analysis notes that villa price growth is starting to slow and that it may be linked to emerging affordability issues, combined with other structural changes in the market.

“Counterintuitively, home ownership has actually become more affordable since the launch of the National Transformational Plan,” Durani said. “Two-bedroom apartments for instance, on average, cost 2.4 times annual incomes, compared