Value of Saudi real estate deals drops 18%

The value of real estate transactions in Saudi Arabia dropped 18 percent year-on-year (YoY) to SAR 162.2 billion for the six-month period from Oct. 14, 2015 to March 9, 2016, new figures from the kingdom’s justice ministry showed.

The monthly value of property deals also dropped 13 percent YoY to SAR 21 billion for the period from March 10 to April 7.

Residential deals were valued at SAR 12.7 billion, falling by 23 percent YoY in the one-month period. Meanwhile, commercial transactions jumped by eight percent to SAR 8.3 billion compared to the same period last year.

Land deals dominated, with SAR 18.7 billion worth of deals accounting for 89 percent of total realty transactions. Agricultural land deals came second, amounting to SAR 931.8 million.

Riyadh was the most active city with transactions worth SAR 3.6 billion, marking a 2 percent decline YoY for the month.

Jeddah came second with SAR 2.3 billion worth of deals, a 31 percent drop YoY.

Meanwhile, the Saudi capital also took the lead in commercial deals with SAR 2.4 billion, despite a 28 percent decrease compared to the same month in 2015.