JEDDAH: There is a need for 30,000 new homes in Jeddah alone and over 70 percent of Saudis live in rented accommodation, said Khaled Jamjoom, chairman of the Real Estate Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI).
Jamjoom, who was speaking to reporters ahead of the Second Real Estate Convention that begins at the JCCI today, said the real estate sector is the key to the Kingdom’s economic growth.
“The real estate sector is providing business to more than 90 other sectors, including the building material, contracting and engineering sectors,” he added.
Investments in the real estate sector in Saudi Arabia, which come second to oil constituting 13 percent of the country’s GDP, crossed SR1 trillion last year.
The convention will be attended by experts and real estate officials who will discuss problems facing the sector in the light of the current global financial crisis.
“The convention is aimed at bringing together under the same roof real estate investors to discuss means of developing the sector, financial modalities and incentives that could be provided to investors,” Jamjoom said.
He said the conference would help investors obtain more information about the real estate sector in the Kingdom and would seek ways of further developing skills of the manpower employed in the sector.
Abdullah bin Saad Al-Ahmari, deputy chairman of the committee, said the recession in the housing market has reached over 50 percent because of the irrational increase in prices.
He said the JCCI was making efforts to provide investors with data, and was also acting as a link between government departments and realtors to resolve problems.
