Data and reports from the General Authority for Real Estate revealed remarkable shifts in the residential real estate market in Saudi Arabia during 2026, after the value of sales declined by about 103 billion riyals during the first nine months, amid a decrease in the number of transactions, their average value, and traded areas, while the results of the third quarter showed an improvement in sales activity compared to the beginning of the year.
Residential sales from the beginning of January to the end of September reached approximately SAR 144.09 billion, compared to SAR 247.06 billion during the same period in 2025, registering an annual decrease of 41.681 TP3T. This decline occurred despite the continued improvement in sales value from quarter to quarter during 2026.
July to September: The strongest quarter in 2026
Despite a continued decline in sales compared to last year, the market ended the third quarter with its highest quarterly trading value of the year, reaching SAR 52.66 billion, compared to SAR 47.23 billion in the second quarter and SAR 44.21 billion in the first quarter. This represents a quarterly increase of 11.51 TP3T and a quarterly increase of 19.11 TP3T compared to the first quarter. However, the year-on-year comparison shows a continued decline; sales fell from SAR 73.02 billion in the third quarter of 2025 to this year's level, a difference equivalent to a decrease of 27.891 TP3T.
The first quarter saw the sharpest year-on-year decline, with sales falling from SAR 101.61 billion in the same period last year to SAR 44.21 billion, a decrease of SAR 56.501 TP3T. In the second quarter, sales reached SAR 47.23 billion, compared to SAR 72.43 billion a year earlier, a decrease of SAR 34.801 TP3T.
The quarterly comparison shows that sales value recorded a gradual improvement during 2026, while remaining lower than the levels of the corresponding periods in the previous year.
More than 55,000 fewer deals than last year
The contraction was not limited to the value of sales, but extended to the number of transactions executed in the market. The total number of residential property sales transactions reached 175,630 during the first nine months of 2026, compared to 231,606 transactions during the same period last year, a difference of 55,976 transactions, representing a decrease of 24,171 TP3T.
The market recorded its largest year-on-year decline in the number of transactions during the first quarter, when the number fell from 95,463 to 52,595, a decrease of 44.91%. However, the gap narrowed in the second quarter, with 58,447 transactions recorded compared to 63,518 transactions a year earlier, a decrease of 7.98%.
In the third quarter, the number of transactions reached 64,588, compared to 72,625 in the same period of 2025, representing a year-on-year decrease of 11,071 TP3T. On a quarterly basis, the number increased by 10,511 TP3T compared to the second quarter, achieving the highest quarterly result of the year.
These figures reveal a difference in the pace of decline between the beginning and end of the year; after the sharp drop in the first quarter, the level of numerical activity improved in the following two quarters, although lower levels than last year continued to be recorded.
The residential transaction loses part of its average value
Concurrently with the decline in total sales, the average value of a residential transaction decreased in each of the first three quarters compared to the same period in 2025. In the first quarter, the average was SAR 753,264, compared to SAR 789,954 a year earlier, a decrease of 4.64%. It then fell in the second quarter to SAR 726,407, compared to SAR 774,997, a decrease of 6.27%.
The average transaction value in the third quarter reached SAR 686,075, compared to SAR 741,896 during the same period last year, representing a year-on-year decrease of 7.521 TP3T. Comparing the first and third quarters of 2026, the average fell from approximately SAR 753,000 to SAR 686,000.
This means that the decline was not limited to the number of transactions or their total value, but also included the average recorded value per transaction. However, this data alone is not sufficient to conclude that the prices of similar properties have decreased at the same rates, because the average transaction value is affected by the mix of properties sold and their varying locations, sizes, and types.
The traded areas decreased during the year
The data on unit sizes provides further evidence of the changing nature of residential transactions. The average unit size of a property sold decreased to 414 square meters in the first quarter of 2026, compared to 428 square meters in the same quarter of the previous year, a decline of 3.351 TP3T.
In the second quarter, the average was approximately 409 square meters, compared to 419 square meters a year earlier, a decrease of 2.39%. In the third quarter, it was approximately 406 square meters, compared to 419 square meters during the same period in 2025, a decrease of 3.10%.
The contraction in average size coincided with a decline in average transaction value, with both indicators trending downwards during the first three quarters. However, determining the extent to which this change is linked to price movements requires detailed data comparing similar properties in terms of location, type, and size.
Does the third quarter represent the beginning of a recovery?
Data from the first nine months of 2026 shows two simultaneous pictures of the residential market: a clear year-on-year decline in sales value and number of transactions, versus a quarterly improvement in activity as the year progresses.
Sales value increased from SAR 44.21 billion in the first quarter to SAR 52.66 billion in the third quarter, and the number of transactions rose from 52,595 to 64,588. Meanwhile, the year-on-year decline in sales value narrowed from SAR 56.501 TP3T in the first quarter to SAR 27.891 TP3T in the third quarter.
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