The the Saudi real estate market saw remarkable activity last week, with the number of real estate transactions increasing by 18% compared to the previous week, coinciding with a rise in the value of transactions by more than 400 million riyals.
Although the average sale price recorded a modest increase, market activity revealed clear disparities among cities in terms of trading volume and the value of real estate transactions and land prices, at a time when data for Riyadh remains outside the scope of the real estate exchange due to the transfer of the notarization of most transactions in the capital’s neighborhoods to the Real Estate Registry.
Number of transactions executed
According to a weekly review of transactions documented through the Real Estate Exchange, the total number of transactions executed reached 3,541, with a value of approximately 2.1 billion riyals, while the average sale price was 106 riyals per square meter. In the previous week, the market recorded 2,999 transactions worth nearly 1.7 billion riyals, with an average price of 103 riyals per square meter.
Jeddah Leads Trading
Jeddah accounted for a large portion of market activity during the week, with 497 transactions totaling approximately 599 million riyals and an average price of 2,260 riyals per square meter. Although the number of transactions increased compared to the previous week, which recorded 503 transactions, the value of trading rose only slightly from approximately 593 million riyals, while the average selling price fell from 3,427 riyals per square meter.
Mecca
Mecca saw a more pronounced change in transaction value, as the number of transactions rose to 144 last week, compared to 113 the week before. The value of transactions jumped to approximately 298 million riyals, compared to approximately 109 million riyals, while the average price rose from 2,143 riyals to 346 riyals per square meter, according to the data. The trend in Mecca indicates that the increase in the number of transactions was not the only factor behind the change in transaction value; rather, the nature of the properties and land that entered the market during the week played a role in determining the total transaction value and average prices.
Medina
Medina continued to record growth in both the number and value of transactions, with 187 transactions totaling nearly 137 million riyals and an average price of 908 riyals per square meter. In the previous week, the city recorded 167 transactions worth nearly 127 million riyals, with an average price of 265 riyals per square meter. Thus, the increase in the number of transactions was accompanied by a rise in the total value of trades, reflecting an improvement in activity compared to the previous week.
Dammam
In Dammam, the number of real estate transactions rose to 123 last week, compared to 101 the previous week.
The value of transactions reached approximately 119 million riyals, compared to more than 95 million riyals the previous week, while the average sale price rose to 2,378 riyals per square meter from 2,050 riyals.
Abha
On the other hand, Abha bucked the trend seen in most major cities, as the number of transactions fell to 63, compared to 73 the previous week.
The value of transactions fell to approximately 38 million riyals from about 53 million riyals, and the average selling price dropped to 631 riyals per square meter, compared to 1,075 riyals the previous week.
Tabuk
As for Tabuk, it recorded 54 transactions last week with a value of nearly 26 million riyals, compared to 40 transactions worth about 19.4 million riyals the previous week. In contrast, data on the average selling price showed a sharp decline to 12 riyals per square meter, compared to 1,331 riyals the previous week—a significant variance that reflects differences in the quality and locations of the properties traded from week to week.
Most Active Neighborhoods
At the neighborhood level, Al-Wasiliyah in Taif topped the list of the most active areas during the week, recording 199 transactions—well ahead of the other neighborhoods. Al-Ghadir in the city of Sultan, Abha, came in second with 43 transactions, while Al-Sha’la in Dammam came in third with 31 transactions, tied with Al-Safa neighborhood in Jeddah, which ranked fourth. The Al-Andalus neighborhood in Al-Muznib came in fifth with 30 transactions.
The ranking of neighborhoods reveals continued real estate activity outside major city centers, as neighborhoods in Taif, Abha, Dammam, Jeddah, and Al-Muznib topped the list of most-traded areas, reflecting the diversity of activity hubs in the Saudi real estate market.
Riyadh Excluded from the Real Estate Exchange’s Monitoring
The picture of weekly activity remains incomplete based solely on data from the Real Estate Exchange, as transactions in Riyadh continue to be excluded from the monitoring, due to the transfer of transaction documentation for most neighborhoods in the capital to the Real Estate Registry.
This means that the increase recorded in the number and value of transactions during the week reflects the trading activity reported through the Real Estate Exchange and does not necessarily represent the total real estate activity in the Kingdom.
Nevertheless, the rise in the number of transactions from 2,999 to 3,541, coupled with an increase in the value of trades from approximately 1.7 billion to 2.1 billion riyals, indicates a more active week in the markets covered by the exchange’s data, with significant disparities continuing to exist among cities in terms of price levels, transaction values, and the nature of the properties traded.
