Riyadh sees ‘exceptional’ demand for residential units, prices up 32%: Knight Frank Research Head

Riyadh is witnessing exceptional demand for apartments, Faisal Durrani, Head of Middle East Research at Knight Frank Middle East, told Argaam. 

Speaking on the sidelines of Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference 2022, Durrani said that apartment prices in Riyadh increased by 32% year-on-year (YoY), while villa prices jumped 21% YoY.

He attributed this to migration from other cities by Saudi youth to work in Riyadh and the establishment of regional headquarters by international companies that seek to start operations in the Kingdom, which, in turn, attracts foreign employees.

Durrani added that Saudis show high demand for housing as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives through “Wafi” and “Sakani” programs, through which more than 600,000 people benefit. Meanwhile, expatriates seek to lease units.

Knight Frank issued a new report about the volume of the projects announced in the Saudi real estate sector. There were $1.1 trillion worth of projects in the last six years, Durrani elaborated, adding that 555,000 residential units will be supplied, in addition to more than 6 million square meter (sqm) office spaces, over 4 million sqm of retail, and more than 275,000 planned hotel rooms.

This comes at a time when the Kingdom leverages a continued rise in oil prices, as well as the economic impact of the Vision 2030, which will create the world’s fastest-growing economy this year.

Durrani expected Riyadh to build 200,000 residential units within the next eight years.