JEDDAH, 27 March 2005 — The real estate auction held here recently by Al-Oula Development Company drew a record crowd of 5,000 businessmen and investors and fetched SR1.3 billion, much more than expected, in five hours.
Ayedh ibn Farhan Al-Gahtani, executive president of the company, expressed his happiness over the big turnout of investors at the auction, which could be described as the largest in the world in terms of sales.
“The completion of the auction for such a large number of plots within hours is an unprecedented achievement,” Al-Gahtani told Arab News. “The sales were excellent in the early hours of the auction,” he pointed out.
A total of 888 plots spread on an area of 1.2 million square meters at Old Jeddah Airport were on sale and the prices per square meter doubled from SR1,500 to SR3,200 as a result of the big demand.
Three Saudi commercial banks — Saudi British Bank, Samba Financial Group, and Saudi Hollandi Bank — were present at the auction venue to offer Islamic finance services to clients purchasing real estate plots.
The lands offered for sale, known as Al-Nakheel plots, are owned by Al-Oula Development in partnership with Aflad Development Company and could be developed as one of Jeddah’s outstanding landmarks.
Al-Gahtani said the deal with Emaar Middle East Company, which had purchased 45 percent of the plots, was instrumental in intensifying competition among investors and real estate developers at the auction.
Emaar has purchased 500,000 square meters of land in the area, becoming the largest single buyer. It is Emaar’s first real estate project in Saudi Arabia.
“We have developed Al-Nakheel to become a model city that would serve the center of Jeddah and provide lucrative opportunities for investors and best living conditions for those who intend to buy plots in the area to build their homes,” Al-Gahtani said.
“Al-Nakheel plots are in attractive locations in the heart of Jeddah and could be developed into one of the main business centers of the city,” said Dr. Abdul Aziz Turkistani, Al-Oula’s vice president for marketing and planning.
Located along Waliy Al-Ahed (Prince Abdullah) Road and Prince Majed Street, Al-Nakheel plots are close to King Abdul Aziz University as well as King Abdul Aziz Square.
“The strategic location, excellent planning and availability of all services make Al-Nakheel an attractive place for investment,” Turkistani said.
“Al-Nakheel plots are unique in the sense that they are going to play an important role in the future development of the city,” Turkistani said, adding that investors can construct various types of buildings including shopping centers to meet the growing requirements of the city.
The auction drew businessmen, investors and brokers from various parts of the Kingdom as well as from neighboring Gulf countries as a result of the strategic location of plots for sale.
Real estate is one of the fast growing sectors in Saudi Arabia and is estimated at more than SR1 trillion. A large number of investors, Saudis as well as foreigners, have shown interest in the sector as new projects are coming up all over the country.