Investment fuels growth across Saudi real estate sectors
This demand is driving prices and rental rates higher, a trend that is expected to continue, with the value of new residential mortgages in the Kingdom rising 17% year-on-year in 2024, satted CBRE in its latest edition of the Saudi Arabia Real Estate Market Review for Q4 2024.
The strong market growth is reflected in rising property values in Riyadh, with average prices increasing by over 6% in the past year, it added.
As new, high-quality units enter the market, prices are anticipated to continue to rise in 2025.
In Riyadh, the villa market has seen steady growth, with average prices now approaching SAR6,000 per sq m. In Jeddah, apartment values are slightly lower, averaging approximately SAR4,000 per sq m, while villa values are notably higher, reaching nearly SAR5,700 per sq m, it added.
On the office sector, CBRE said the demand for space remained strong through year-end 2024 in the Saudi capital, though transactional activity is now clearly being constrained by the lack of space for immediate lease and occupation.
The high occupancy rates across the capital's prime office districts reflect the strong prevailing demand, driven by the kingdom's thriving non-oil economy which is a key component of the government's Vision 2030 diversification strategy, it stated.
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