A working paper titled “Housing in the Kingdom Challenges and Solutions” revealed that the private sector contributed to financing about (75%) of housing units during the development plans. The paper presented by the Ministry of Economy stated that the number of subscribers to electricity service for residential consumption (number of residential units) by the end of 2014 is about six million units.

The private sector financed about (75%) of housing

<The paper presented by Mr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Jarbou, Undersecretary for Human and Community Development at the Ministry of Economy and Planning, in reviewing the current status of the housing sector, showed that the total number of housing units is about 6.6 million housing units by the end of the ninth development plan, and that the Real Estate Fund contributed to the financing and construction of about (1.020) million housing units since its establishment, and the total number of subscribers to electricity service for residential consumption by the end of 2014 was about (6) million subscribers. The private sector also contributed to financing about (75%) of the housing units during the development plans.

The private sector also contributed to financing about (75%) of the housing units during the development plans.

The total demand is 1.46 million housing units

The working paper focused on the demand in the housing sector based on the indicators of demand for housing units, where the total demand is estimated at 1.46 million housing units for citizens and residents during the tenth development plan, in order to meet the demand of the new family (Saudi and non-Saudi). The most important issues and challenges related to demand were also pointed out, including the lack of information and research methodology in the housing sector, the high cost of development and construction, the difficulty of obtaining real estate financing for projects, the difficulty of current procedures and regulations, and the lack of recovery mechanisms for loans provided by the Real Estate Development Fund.

Supporting the supply with initiatives and regulations

The third part of the working paper reviewed the indicators of the supply of housing units, including those related to the contribution of the Real Estate Development Fund in financing the construction of housing units, the launch of many initiatives, the most important of which are (accelerated loan, off-plan sale, and others), in addition to the contribution of the Ministry of Housing by providing (150) thousand products urgently during the year (2016), and supporting supply by imposing fees on land and utilizing unused government land and buildings.

The third part of the working paper reviewed the indicators of the supply of housing units, including the contribution of the Real Estate Development Fund in financing the construction of housing units.

Recommendations and solutions on the housing table

The working paper finally recommended some recommendations, the most important of which are as follows:

<Issuing the National Housing System and establishing the National Center for Housing Research and Data. <Implementation of mortgage and real estate financing systems. <Adoption of the National Housing Strategy and implementation of its programs. Developing the land grant system.

<Develop an urban planning system. <Application and development of the Saudi Building Code for public and private housing projects. Developing the regulation for the ownership system of condominiums.

Developing the regulation for the ownership system of condominiums. <Accelerate the implementation of housing ownership databases. <Encouraging cooperative, charitable and savings-based housing and issuing regulations for them.