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Saudi Arabia Will Allow Foreigners To Buy Property
In a game-changing move, Saudi Arabia is reportedly drafting new real estate laws that will allow foreigners to buy property anywhere in the kingdom, as reported by the Saudi Gazette.
Real Estate General Authority (REGA) CEO Abdullah Al-Hamad said new legislation is underway that will give non-Saudi nationals the right to buy property.
Following this legislation, foreigners will be able to own property across the kingdom, including the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. This law will cover both residential and commercial real estate.
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Talking about the law, Abdullah confirmed that foreigners will be given this right under the new law. He added that the negative effects of foreign ownership have also been taken into consideration to avoid future problems.
He expressed these views while speaking in a Saudi television program. With villa prices increasing by 45 percent over the past two years, Abdullah said the skyrocketing prices do not augur well for the kingdom’s growing property market.
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The head of the authority said that foreigners will be allowed to own all types of real estate including commercial, residential and agricultural as per the rules and regulations. “A preliminary study of the law shows that it allows foreigners to own property everywhere in the kingdom, including Mecca and Medina”.
A recent survey by Knight Frank, in collaboration with YouGov, revealed that Saudi residents’ demand to purchase a house has plummeted this year due to high prices. Last year, the demand for residential units stood at 84%, which has now decreased to 40%.
A recent survey by Knight Frank in collaboration with YouGov revealed that demand from Saudis to buy a home has weakened this year due to high prices. Demand for residential units was 84 percent last year, which has now come down to 40 percent.
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Faisal Durrani, head of Middle East research at Knight Frank, attributed the drop in demand to rising real estate prices. Due to the increase in villa prices, which increased by 45% in the last two years to SAR 5000 per square meter. He added that the prospect of owning one house or another has become a challenge for many households in Riyadh.
Faisal added that this has led to a 34% drop in the total number of houses sold in the city last year. Similarly, the number of residential units sold in Jeddah has decreased by 16 percent.