The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is set to be the largest real estate market in the Middle East, according to a report from real estate advisory Jones Lang LaSalle. Saudi Arabia is one of the fastest growing countries in the world and, unlike most of the other Middle East nations, demand for property is coming mostly from internal sources.
From 1998 to 2008, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has seen a population growth of nearly 30 percent, with over 40 percent of the population below age 20. That trend is expected to continue in the years to come, with annual growth of around 3 percent. That means there is a steady – and large – demand for housing from citizens of the country. It is estimated that there is currently a shortfall of at least 500,000 dwellings in the Kingdom. This number is likely to double in the next few years, and the major cities will see most of the need for new housing.
The Kingdom has one of the lowest rates of home ownership in the Gulf region. It is in the process of implementing a new mortgage law that should have positive impacts for people who want to buy houses and who want to finance their purchases. Local banks are looking forward to the mortgage law, and it should help to increase home ownership in the country in the years to come.
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