• November 30, 2015

    KSA Residential Real Estate – Transactions Review (Q3 2015)

    During the past decade, Saudi Arabia has witnessed rapid economic development, attributable to elevated oil production and prices, vigorous private sector activity and strong government spending on infrastructure, health, and education. The nominal GDP of KSA grew from USD 754.6bn in 2013 to USD 761.9bn in 2014, and is projected to reach USD 791.6bn in 2016. High population growth coupled with rise in per capita income has fuelled the demand for residential units in the Kingdom, especially in Riyadh and...

  • September 28, 2015

    Saudi Mortgage Law: Anticipated Impact vs. Ground Realties

    Until the issuance of the Mortgage Law (prior to 2012), the finance sector regulations in Saudi Arabia, in particular the home finance segment was underdeveloped. The lenders were hesitant to provide financing due to ambiguous regulations and challenges associated with enforcing their rights. These risks added to the costs of financing making it expensive for the borrowers. The traditional practice followed by the Saudi banks was to offer home buying loans primarily secured by banks’ automatic deduction of loan repayments...

  • June 21, 2015

    Affordable housing in the GCC-Scale of the problem

    Amongst a handful of regions with bright economic indicators, the GCC is projected to grow at 3.8% in 2016 according to the IMF.  The region, which is highly reliant on oil and gas, is now hedging its bets by diversifying into non-hydrocarbon sectors. (Read: Marmore’s report on “Affordable Housing”). Despite its richness, the issue of affordable housing is yet to be addressed thoroughly. What is the scale of this crisis? KEY QUESTION 1: Why is there a housing problem? You...