MAKKAH: The price of residential land has registered a drastic 30 percent drop due to the slump in the market over the past six months, said an online newspaper.

According to real estate dealers, the reason behind the decision was the imposition of 30 percent as the first installment of the real estate loan, the decision of white land fees, and other decisions which hit the market.

Omar Al-Shahri, a real estate dealer, said that during the last two months the price of residential land in Makkah has drastically come down. He also said that in the last six months the price has come down by 30 percent due to the government decision to levy white land fees. There were lands worth SR1.2 million in the market; the same land is now available for SR900,000.

Al-Shahri said that a 400-square-meter residential plot is now available for SR800,000. Most of such lands are around Makkah in areas like Al-Shara'e and where there are lack of infrastructure needs. But in areas like Al-Awali, Al-Shauqiyah, Al-Zayedi and Batha Quraish, which are near the Holy Mosque where are all sorts of civic facilities, the price of a 400-square-meter plot is SR1.5 million. It is expected that the recession will continue in the next two months, he said.

Bandar Al-Zayedi, another real estate dealer, said that the price of residential areas has come down by 30 percent due to the recent government decisions and imposition of 30 percent as the first installment of the land loan. He said that the price of land differs from one place to another; in Batha Quraish the price of a 500-square-meter parcel of land is SR1 million. In the area which falls under Crown Prince’s plans, the same size land is worth SR3.5 million. He said that land in this area is the most in demand.

Omar Al-Zubaidi, a real estate dealer, said that the prince of residential land has been continuously coming down over the past five months. However, he said that the sale of land in Al-Raseefah, Al-Nuzhan and Al-Sitteen has stopped due to huge price where one meter of land is worth SR30,000 to SR70,000.