New residential real estate financing contracts hit an unprecedented number in Saudi Arabia in March as the kingdom seeks to increase home ownership among citizens.
Contracts totalled 32,440 contracts in March, representing 56 percent annual growth, valued at SR17.5 billion, up 37 percent growth over the same period.
According to the monthly bulletin issued by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), the number of new housing financing contracts also increased 21 percent compared to the previous quarter and by 24 percent related to the value.
The bulletin indicated that the growth in the first quarter of 2021 exceeded 48 percent, recording a total value of SR48 billion while the number of contracts rose by 26 percent to 92,111.
The figures showed that 97 percent of the contracts’ value was concluded through commercial banks, while 3 percent were concluded through real estate financing companies during March.
Real estate financing for residential villas made up about 80 percent of the total financing, with apartment financing contributing 16 percent and the purchase of residential lands making up 4 percent.
Saudi citizens have complained for years about the availability and affordability of housing, and boosting home ownership is one of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s key goals.
The introduction of a mortgage law along with government incentives have now made mortgages one of the main drivers of lending growth for banks in the kingdom.
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