I have dealt with this issue earlier and pointed out that the Real Estate Development Fund, despite the support it receives from the government, has not been successful in solving this problem. The crisis has, as a result, become further aggravated and reached a stage for which there is little chance of a solution. The government’s charity housing scheme can also do very little in narrowing this large gap.

I am returning to this topic once again after receiving a message from a Saudi — Abdullah Al-Otaibi — in which he details the difficulties he has been experiencing in buying a plot of land and building a house. His message drew my attention to the exorbitant increase in the price of real estate that has soared several times over in various cities and regions across the Kingdom. He says that the price of real estate worth about SR40,000 and SR120,000 shot up to SR250,000 and SR400,000 respectively.

Al-Otaibi points out that these soaring prices have dashed all hopes of Saudis buying their own homes. This has also, naturally, resulted in a huge increase in rent.

Al-Otaibi underlined the need for urgent government intervention to contain this phenomenon, which he claims is a byproduct of the greed of investors in the burgeoning real estate market.

The letter also mentions that the rocketing price of real estate has also been instrumental in the increase in the price of related products and services, and thus contributing to high inflation. When someone’s rent amounting to SR40,000 is doubled, the price of related products and services also increases.

This has a negative impact on foreign investors. When an investor places SR100 million in a project, the price of land alone devours nearly half of the capital. Such a situation will result in pushing out foreign investors rather than attracting them.

This also weakens our purchasing power and puts us in a difficult situation because of the game played by a group of realtors and traders. The government, therefore, needs to urgently intervene before the problem reaches a level of no return. Let the economic experts work out a sound and practical plan to address this problem at the grassroots level. At the same time, there should be initiatives on the part of concerned government agencies, businessmen or economic experts to put an end to the problem.

Some of the proposals put forward by Al-Otaibi can be taken into account in this regard. He suggests that land in new townships be offered to ordinary citizens on condition that they build homes there and not sell them for at least 25 years after building them. Other suggestions include curbing reckless speculation in the real estate business, something that makes the resale of properties difficult.

I fully back these proposals and view them as something that is close to the heart of our citizens. I have not seen any agency taking concrete steps to address this pressing problem. The Shoura Council earlier said it would study the issue once it resumes sessions after the vacation. Maybe it is the case that this problem is not a major concern for Shoura members as none of them experience housing problems.

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