It reported after a tour of a number of districts in Riyadh that the real estate market in the capital was still facing various pressures, foremost of which were the high prices of land and housing units, whether they were apartments or villas.

The market experts said the unjustified high prices of houses kept interested buyers at bay. They urged real estate developers and individuals to expedite the construction of new housing units of various sizes to cater to the needs of buyers with different incomes.

Faisal Al-Dakheel, a real estate marketing specialist, described the housing loans provided by the commercial banks as insufficient and said they hardly covered 60 percent of construction costs. He doubted that buyers would be able to cover the difference in costs.

“The housing problem was caused by the inability of citizens to buy as a result of soaring prices,” he said.

Al-Dakheel noted that citizens looking for apartments or villas to buy have lost confidence in investors due to the cheap material they use when constructing houses to save money.

“Even citizens who are financially capable have lost interest in buying because they have no confidence in the durability of houses,” he said.

Al-Dakheel called for establishing special offices to supervise the construction of houses to make sure they are strong and durable. “Real estate developers have no consideration for low-income people and are targeting rich people only,” he said.

Salman Al-Atifi, a real estate investor, said though the banks had lowered their interest rates, there were no customers for their financing products. “The real estate prices have stupidly increased. A villa whose area does not exceed 250 square meters is sold for more than SR1 million,” he said.

Al-Atifi said the construction and real estate sector in the Kingdom was the most attractive sector in the region. “There are 285 real estate projects worth more than SR260 billion currently in the phases of construction or design,” he said.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry had earlier said that the local market needs 5.4 million homes by 2020.