JEDDAH, 31 August — The real estate market in the Kingdom is likely to witness a big boom over the coming months as a result of repatriation of funds from the United States.
Real estate dealers in Jeddah have told Arab News that a number of major deals have already been signed in the city for sale of land for construction purposes.
Khaled Sultan, head of a real estate company in Jeddah, said the situation in the market was "extremely satisfactory" as a result of growing demand.
"The reports on the return of billions of dollars in Saudi and other Gulf investments abroad would definitely give a boost to the market," he said.
Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Sanie, an economist, said the real estate sector would be one of the major beneficiaries of repatriated funds. "It will naturally increase the real estate prices and will affect people with limited income," he added.
Sanie expected a major boom in the sector if the government encourages foreigners to purchase real estate in the country. "There are about six million expatriates in the Kingdom. Some of them have considerable incomes which allow them to purchase property in the country," he said.
Shahwan Al-Shohaiween, owner of a real estate office in Jeddah, denied reports that real estate owners had sold their property at low rates due to a fall in demand. "This report is not true. The increase in sales was due to high demand caused by rise in liquidity," he stated.
In the Eastern Province, however, there was a slight decline in the prices of stocks of real estate companies. According to market experts, the fall in prices was due to increase in supply.
The experts point out that the recent decision by the Gulf Cooperation Council allowing GCC citizens to own real estate in all the six member countries will bolster activity in the market.
