The real estate market in the Kingdom witnessed a remarkable transformation during the first quarter of 2026, as the index <a href="https://amlak.net.The real estate prices registered a year-on-year decline of 1.6%, amid mixed performance in different sectors and administrative regions, according to data from General Authority for Statistics.
The General Authority for Statistics.
The authority adopted a new methodology to calculate the real estate price index starting from the third quarter 2024, in cooperation with the General Authority for Real Estate, the Ministry of Justice and the Saudi Central Bank, with 2023 as the base year for the index. While the regions of Mecca, Jizan and Jouf witnessed less severe decreases ranging from 0.7% to 1.4%.
The index consists of three main sectors that include several real estate items. The residential sector includes the following items: Plot of land, villa, apartment, and house. The commercial sector includes the following items: Plot of land, building, store or shop. The data shows that the real estate price index reached 103.3 points in Q1 2026, based on the base year 2023, compared to 104.9 points in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
Residential Sector Decline
The decline was mainly due to a 3.6% decline in the performance of the residential sector, which has the largest relative weight in the index, at 72.7%. The decline was driven by a decrease in residential land prices by 3.9%, apartment prices by 1.1%, and villa prices by 6.1%, while residential floor prices increased by 0.6%.
In contrast, the commercial sector saw an increase in real estate prices during Q1 2026 compared to the same period of the previous year. This sector, whose weight in the index is 25.4%, recorded a rise of 3.4%, driven by a rise in the prices of commercial plots by 3.6% and buildings by 2.6%, while the prices of galleries and shops declined by 3.5%.
The agricultural land price index increased by 11.8% to reach 112.8 points during the first quarter of 2026, compared to the same quarter of 2025.
Real estate price movements by regions
In terms of real estate prices by administrative regions, the Eastern Province recorded the highest rise by 6.9% to reach an index of 97.8 points, followed by Najran by 3.5% at 105.6 points, then Tabuk by 1.5% at 102.On the other hand, Al-Baha region witnessed the largest decrease of 9.2% to reach an index of 76.1 points, followed by Hail region with a decrease of 8.0% at 95.4 points, and the Northern Borders region with a decrease of 6.6% at 100.0 points.
On the other hand, Al-Baha region witnessed the largest decrease of 9.2% to reach an index of 76.1 points, followed by Hail region with a decrease of 8.0% at 95.4 points. The Qassim region recorded a decrease of 5.1% at 91.9 points, Medina by 5.0% at 93.6 points, and Riyadh by 4.4% at 109.8 points, while the regions of Mecca, Jizan and Jouf witnessed less severe decreases that ranged between 0.7% and 1.4%.
