For decades, we have been accustomed to viewing land as the foundation of real estate wealth, and to measuring an investor’s value by the number of square meters they own. However, rapid economic and technological shifts are now raising a different question: Is land still the sole source of power in the real estate sector, or has data become the most valuable asset?
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the number of homes occupied by Saudi families reached approximately 4.4 million in 2024, an increase of more than 233,000 housing units compared to the previous census. These homes, neighborhoods, and commercial centers are not merely real estate assets; they have become a daily source of millions of data points related to population, movement, consumption, services, and lifestyles.
As the real estate sector continues to grow, the smart cities sector is expanding rapidly, with estimates indicating that the market size for smart cities in the Kingdom will rise from approximately $5.1 billion in 2025 to more than $10.9 billion by 2030, at an annual growth rate exceeding 16%.
These figures reveal a fundamental shift in the concept of real estate value, as a developer capable of analyzing data and understanding residents" needs and future growth trends may achieve greater returns than a developer who owns large tracts of land without a precise understanding of the market.
This shift is no longer merely a future projection; data centers have become one of the most critical economic infrastructures globally. In the Kingdom, investments in artificial intelligence projects and data centers have exceeded tens of billions of riyals, in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 aimed at building a competitive and diversified digital economy.
The question facing the real estate sector today is not just where to build, but what we know about the location where we are building. Accurate information can now reduce investment risks, increase development efficiency, and direct capital toward the most viable opportunities.
In the past, real estate investors sought out the best location, but the investor of the future will seek out the best data. Therefore, the competition of the future will not be limited to real estate development companies alone, but will also involve developers and technology and artificial intelligence firms capable of analyzing cities and predicting their needs. Real estate will remain one of the most important economic assets, but added value will gradually shift from owning land to possessing the knowledge associated with it. Whoever possesses the data that explains a city’s dynamics and future trends may have the greatest influence in shaping its character—even if they are not the city’s largest landowner.
Economic Journalist
