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Real estate price index in Saudi Arabia rose by 1.6% in Q4-2022 compared with the same quarter of 2021, driven by an increase in the prices of residential properties by 2.6%, government data showed.
However, prices of commercial real estate fell by 0.2% and agricultural real estate by 0.8%, dampening the overall rise in the general index, the General Authority for Statistics said on Thursday.
The prices of villas increased by 1.7% and apartments by 2.2%. On the other hand, house prices decreased by 0.4%, while residential building prices did not record any relative change.
Saudi Arabia has pushed home ownership as part of its Vision 2030 strategy and retail mortgages have jumped as the government expanded the number of lenders. The percentage of Saudi's homeowners jumped to 62% from 47% between 2016 and 2020, according to government figures. The objective is to hit 70% by 2030.
(Reporting by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria)
