Riyadh is fast emerging as a serious contender in the real estate sector globally, challenging Dubai’s long-standing dominance, riding on the back of a huge price advantage over the UAE city and the Saudi government’s big push to woo international investors through financial incentives, a latest industry report revealed.

A vast pool of potential domestic investors – estimated at 37 million, besides the rising number of international investors, are the other factors that could propel the Saudi capital city to become the new regional hot spot for real estate investments.

“In stark contrast to Dubai, Riyadh’s affordability has been a key magnet for investors, promoting substantial economic expansion,” the report by Dubai-based proptech Realiste said.

“In comparison to real estate prices in other global cities, Riyadh offers notably affordable options at an average cost of $1,394 per square meter, whereas Dubai showcases prices at $7,002 per square meter,” the AI-driven analysis-based report said.

“Investments in Saudi Arabia are expected to reach hundreds of billions of dollars in the next 5 years, which will certainly raise prices and open up new opportunities for investors to receive multiple refunds,” Alex Galt, founder of Realiste, told Arabian Business.

The average sale prices for apartments are expected to surge by 22 percent, while villa prices are anticipated to rise by 12 percent year-over-year in Riyadh, according to data from Knight Frank.

The global consultancy’s data also showed that Riyadh is set for remarkable growth with over 1.5 million available units and a projected 10 percent increase in supply by 2025.

Dubai vs. Riyadh: The competitive edge

Realiste said while Dubai has long been a powerhouse in the real estate market, Riyadh is fast emerging as a contender for remarkable growth and dominance in various aspects, fuelled by Saudi Arabia’s rising status as a global innovation and economic powerhouse boosting the capital city’s burgeoning real estate market.

“With ambitious initiatives, robust economic growth, and an increasingly attractive investment environment, Riyadh is poised to challenge Dubai’s long-standing reign as the regional real estate leader,” said the report by Realiste, which operates in over 100 cities worldwide.

The numbers on economic growth and current trends in real estate prices indicate that Riyadh is indeed set for remarkable growth, signalling a promising future for Saudi Arabia’s real estate market and its potential to outperform Dubai, it added.

“Saudi Arabia is obviously the next big market – it is home to 37 million people. While prices – vis-a-vis the world market – are still low, the housing area there remains one of the largest in the world,” Galt said.

“In addition, there is a lot of need for infrastructure development and construction, which creates a great demand for quality housing,” the Realiste founder said, adding that “domestic demand, especially, is growing vigorously”.

Government push to further boost Saudi real estate sector investment potential

The report said government-sponsored measures to enhance the city’s infrastructure, advance technology, and foster cultural hotspots have been instrumental in attracting visitors and investors to Riyadh.

To address the increasing land and housing prices, Saudi Arabia has allocated 100 million square meters of land for the residential sector in the capital and other cities.

“This move aims to balance supply and demand, allowing for a more sustainable growth pattern,” the Realiste report said.

Alex Galt, founder and CEO of Realiste

“Investment demand is also fuelled by the fact that foreign investors were previously restricted the right to purchase real estate, but now everyone expects that they will get such an opportunity,” Galt said.

A booming market with enormous potential

The report said with a burgeoning population, increasing demand for housing and lifestyle facilities, supportive regulatory frameworks, and its strategic regional location, Saudi Arabia’s real estate market is expected to soar with vast potential in the coming years.

The country remains an attractive destination for global investors, despite the current regional challenges, it added.

Galt said despite some possible difficulties in the region, such as the situation with Israel and Hamas, most expect Saudi Arabia to become the next huge market in the next 5 years.

“It will continue to grow, attracting the attention of investors from all over the world, including Europe, Russia, and Arab countries,” he said.

Source : ArabianBusiness

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The value of real estate and infrastructure projects announced since Saudi Arabia rolled out its National Transformation Plan in 2016 has crossed $1.25 trillion, agency Knight Frank has said.

With the execution deadline of the end of this decade fast approaching, the kingdom has commissioned projects worth $250 billion so far since the launch of its Vision 2030 economic and social diversification programme, the global real estate consultancy said in its annual Saudi Giga Projects report.

Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s biggest economy and Opec’s top oil producer, is aiming to cut its dependence on the sale of hydrocarbons.

Riyadh’s overarching Vision 2030 agenda seeks to further develop the kingdom’s industrial base, broaden the country’s infrastructure and advance sectors including real estate, health and education to create more jobs for its rapidly expanding population.

The development of the tourism and hospitality sector is one of the central planks of Vision 2030. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign investment arm, the Public Investment Fund, is backing several projects in the kingdom including the $500 billion futuristic city Neom, and multi-billion-dollar developments on the Red Sea coast, as well as in Riyadh.

“Arguably one of, if not the most, expansive real estate development programmes ever seen in the world is gathering pace in Saudi Arabia as the 2030 deadline nears to realise Vision 2030,” Faisal Durrani, partner and head of Mena research, said.

Saudi Arabia, which was the fastest-growing major economy last year, aims to receive 100 million tourists by 2030 and is investing heavily in expanding its retail and hospitality offerings.

Knight Frank said the value of real estate and infrastructure projects across the western half of the country has climbed to $687 billion.

“The western half of the kingdom contains the highest concentration of headline-grabbing projects in the country, including of course Neom,” Harmen de Jong, partner and head of strategy, Saudi Arabia, at Knight Frank said.

In the last year, authorities announced various sub-components in Neom, including Trojena, the host location for the 2030 Asian Games, as well as Sindalah, a luxury island that will be the first of Neom’s projects to materialise.

“Neom overall is also progressing rapidly, with $70 billion of projects now awarded, 45 per cent of which has been completed,” he said.

The transformation is “clearly visible across the entire urban landscape”, as the planned giga projects are set to vastly expand the residential, office, retail, hospitality and industrial offerings to accommodate the projected population growth to 50 million by 2030, the report said.

Riyadh, in particular, is a hive of development activity and currently accounts for 18 per cent of all real estate projects under way, totalling about $229 billion, Knight Frank said.

The volume of residential units planned has climbed 30 per cent over the past 12 months to 660,000 units, which is “welcome news” for prospective homeowners.

A rise in the values of residential properties in recent quarters led to a nationwide decline in the volume of homes being sold in the kingdom, according to the report.

“Affordability is still a key hurdle for many buyers and so price points for the new inventory will be critical to reigniting domestic demand,” Mr Durrani said.

In the commercial market, 5.3 million square metres of retail space is now planned, with a further 289,000 hotel rooms that “will go some way to supporting Saudi Arabia’s goal of hosting 100 million visitors by 2030”, he said.

The office real estate pipeline in the kingdom is also steadily growing, reaching six million square metres.

“The swelling of the office pipeline is set against a backdrop of a severe shortage of prime Grade-A space in cities such as Riyadh, which stands in stark contrast to other global centres where occupancy levels still trail pre-pandemic levels,” Mr Durrani said.

Source : TheNational

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Leading UK property investment specialists API Global will be attending CityScape Global in Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with UK property developers Elevate Property Group and Investin PLC.

The event, which runs from Sept. 10-13, will see API Global showcase its extensive UK buy-to-let property portfolio to the exhibition’s 180,000 attendees. Following this, the company will launch its eagerly anticipated second office in Saudi Arabia.

With rental demand in the UK at an all-time high, developers across the UK are looking to build more stock to capitalize on the surge in rentals and deliver strong returns for investors both in the UK and overseas. API Global helps investors build passive income through property with their sophisticated end-to-end solution.

With a strong development portfolio, including off-plan, completed, and below-market-value stock, investors can maximize their capital growth from Day 1 of their investment, the company claims.

Michael Leighton, CEO of API Global, said: “API is a truly global business, serving property investors across the UK and the Middle East. We’re proud to work with some of the best developers in the UK, including Investin PLC and Elevate Property Group, to bring high-quality developments to the market.

“We’re the UK’s leading property investment company, and opening our Saudi office will further solidify our position and attract more investment into the UK.”

He added: “If you’re attending CityScape Global, please make sure you pay a visit to the API Stand at H1 V11, near gate 3.”

Census data reveals the scale of the shift in the UK housing market, with the number of households renting in England and Wales more than doubling since 2001. Five million households are now renting privately compared to 1.9 million in 2001, and homeownership rates have fallen from 64.1 percent in 2011 to 62.3 percent in 2021. Looking at more specific markets, hotspots such as London, Birmingham, and Manchester are going through a period of unprecedented, sustained growth. Across the UK, rents have increased by an average of 11 percent, rising to 15.8 percent in London and more than 23 percent in Manchester. In London, rents are increasing at their highest-ever rate, and outside the capital, average rents have reached another new record of over £1,100 pounds ($1,385) per month.

API Global has had an office in the Middle East — in Dubai — since the company’s inception in 2013, serving expats and locals alike looking to invest in one of the most stable and secure asset classes in the world: UK property. Looking to expand further into the region and to cater to the increased demand for their end-to-end investment and management service, API Global is now ready to open its second Middle East office in Saudi Arabia.

Source : ARABNEWS

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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has allocated a budget of SR1 billion ($267 million) for its recently launched National Intellectual Property Strategy to support inventors in the Kingdom and diversify its economy.

The budget of the NIPS, which was launched last week by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been agreed to be distributed over a five-year period until 2028.

This strategy will be implemented through 12 initiatives which include 54 projects, according to Sami AlSudais, the vice president for Intellectual Property Policies and Partnerships at the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property.

He further noted that the national strategy proposals are being executed by 37 governmental and private agencies.

Al-Sudais added that the NIPS intends to significantly increase inventors’ quantity in the coming period.

“The number of inventors in Saudi Arabia today is about a thousand, and we look forward to reaching this number to 13,000 in 2028,” he stated in an interview with Asharq Business on the sidelines of a press conference in Riyadh.

This strategy takes Saudi Arabia one step closer to its Vision 2030 goal of enhancing its position as one of the top ten countries on the Global Competitiveness Index by 2030, from its current ranking of 24.

In addition, it will also help uplift the Kingdom’s position on the International Institute for Administrative Development index in the field of intellectual property protection, from 34th place to reach the top 20 countries in this field in five years.

Al-Sudais added: “Today, Saudi Arabia is witnessing applications for intellectual property rights at a rate of 95 trademarks per million inhabitants, and our goal is to reach this number to 200 trademarks within five years.”

The NIPS is centered around four pillars — IP creation, IP administration, IP commercialization and IP protection — which will only be reached through enhancing cooperation and integration between the different national entities involved, as stated by the Saudi Press Agency.

“The adoption of NIPST supports the empowerment of innovators in various fields to build an ambitious country and a diversified and prosperous economy for the Kingdom and attracts interested researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators from Saudi Arabia and around the world towards innovation, creativity and respect of IP rights,” said SPA.

Source : ArabNews

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