Saudi Arabia to add 300,000 housing units over three years

Saudi Arabian authorities are working with the private sector to build 300,000 housing units over the next three years, minister of municipalities and housing Majed Al-Hogail has said.

Home ownership in Saudi Arabia rose to 66 percent at the end of 2025 from 47 percent in 2016, as the country aims to reach its target of 70 percent by the end of the decade.

“More than 300,000 units have already been delivered in 16 cities by the end of 2025, with housing support programmes benefiting more than one million people,” the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported, quoting Al-Hogail’s opening speech at the Real Estate Future Forum.

In a bid to meet the Vision 2030 homeownership target, Saudi Arabia has launched a number of new initiatives.

This month, 60,000 landowners in Riyadh were billed under a new cycle of “White Land” fees, a move to spur development and ease a housing shortage in the capital.

The aim is to activate undeveloped land, Al-Hogail said, adding that the available land for development in Riyadh exceeds 100 million square metres.

“Riyadh stands out as a major opportunity for real estate development projects,” the minister said.

Al-Hogail said that the kingdom has attracted global developers, with more than SAR40 billion in real estate investments.

Last week regulators in Saudi Arabia announced it was implementing new rules that, for the first time, would let foreigners buy property in the country.

AGBI broke the news in November last year that the regulations would come into effect on January 22.

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The Real Estate General Authority has said the plans would support Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goal of expanding real estate economic activity to $85 billion a year.

Saudi Arabia’s largest listed developer Dar Al Arkan and its London-listed subsidiary Dar Global recently announced an agreement to build two Trump-branded projects in Riyadh with a combined value of $10 billion.

Dubai developer Omniyat’s founder Mahdi Amjad also plans to launch a $5 billion project in Saudi Arabia this year.