“The present and future of housing in Riyadh showed that the availability of services has a direct effect on the price per square meter of a residential plot and these could be summed up in seven basic elements,” the spokesman said.

These basic elements include electricity, water, drainage, roads, pavements, landscape and road lighting, he added.

Housing lots with all these features are sold for SR1,199 per square meter. Lots without these elements are much cheaper.

Measuring the effect of these elements on real estate prices, the study found that electricity and water came top of the list.

“The availability of drainage and road lighting considerably increases the price per square meter of a housing lot,” the spokesman added.