Saudi Arabia must increase land supplies to solve housing shortage: Dar Al-Arkan chairman

27/04/2015 Argaam
Saudi Arabia's government should increase land supplies available to developers in order to help ease the kingdom's housing shortage, Youssef Al-Shelash, chairman of Dar Al-Arkan Real Estate Development Co. told CNBC Arabia in an interview.
 
Land in the kingdom is often the subject of legal or procedural disputes, preventing it from being easily offered on the market. Nearly 500 million meters of disputed land is said to be accounted for in Riyadh alone.
 
Faced with such difficulties, developers often have to go through a lengthy process to obtain building permits, which can take between five to 10 years.
 
He said the country's planned tax on undeveloped lands in urban areas is positive for the local real estate market. However, he pointed out that it would not make properties more affordable.
 
Al-Shelash lauded the ministry’s recent partnership with private sector developers to construct 11,000 homes in Jeddah and Dammam.
 
When asked about dividends, Al-Shelash said his company would focus on maintaining financial stability, fulfilling liabilities, and completing ongoing projects.
 
Dar Al-Arkan has shifted its strategy to focus on high-yield assets accounting for 40 percent to 50 percent of its annual income. 

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