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According to a study conducted by Knight Frank, over the past 12 months, apartment prices in Riyadh have increased by 20%, which turned out to be the fastest pace in the last five years. Villas in the capital have risen by 18.6% in price over the same period.
Quote. "This significant growth has not been without consequences. Demand has stalled, as households have to postpone homeownership for a longer period. As a result, the number of transactions has decreased by 27% over the past 12 months," says Faisal Durrani, partner and head of Middle East research at Knight Frank.
Jeddah. The number of housing transactions in Jeddah has increased by 5% over the past 12 months, and the total cost of housing sales has increased by 46% over the same period.
As in Riyadh, Jeddah has also seen an increase in house prices over the past 12 months. The report says that apartment prices in the city increased by 4.9% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, and villa prices increased by 1.2% over the same period.
Knight Frank reported that this price increase could be the result of numerous public and private organizations, such as ROSHN, Upton Jeddah, Al Ballad Development, and Jeddah Central, opening their offices in the city. It eventually forces Saudi citizens and expatriates to return to Jeddah which reinforces the demand for houses and apartments.
Dammam. In the capital's Dammam district (DMA), there was also a significant increase in residential property prices: apartments rose by 6.1%, and villas by 2.5% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.
"Unconfirmed data on the increase in the pace of job creation caused by the rise in oil prices in the oil-producing center of the Kingdom supports the growing demand for houses in the DMA, which, in turn, helps to raise the cost of housing," Durrani added.
However, the volume of transactions has decreased by 32% over the past 12 months in the DMA housing market, and the total value of housing transactions has decreased by 18% over the same period.
Source: Arab News
