JEDDAH: Rising house rents have prompted many Saudis to look for opportunities of owning homes instead of living in rented houses.
According to a source, most tenants do not have enough income to cope with recent rent increase, which is between 10 and 15 percent.
“The increase in rents has prompted not only individuals but also companies to buy the properties they are in to save on the rents. For companies such acquisitions would mean addition to their immovable assets,” Abdulmoneam Morad, executive director and board member of Eva Dairah for Real Estate Development in Jeddah, told Arab News.
“According to latest statistics, more than seven million foreigners live in the Kingdom. If 10 percent of them are allowed to buy housing units, which might cost an average of SR200,000, it would mean that SR140 billion of their earnings would circulate in the local market instead of going abroad in the form of remittances,” he pointed out.
Talal Khaleel, a Jeddah-based real estate analyst, said the home-owning trend is growing among Saudis.
