An economic report published by *National Business* addressed the housing crisis in the Kingdom and analyzed it in light of the National Transformation Program 2020, revealing that the cost of housing in Saudi Arabia is projected to decrease by 50% by 2020, by raising the homeownership rate from 47 to 52%..

The report highlighted the housing crisis as a key pillar of the National Transformation Plan, which aims to increase non-oil revenues to 530 billion riyals by 2020, and noted that demand is rising at a rate of 100,000 housing units per year, amid a 250% increase in population over the past 35 years.

The report emphasized the importance of giving real estate developers greater opportunity to participate in resolving the crisis, given their extensive market expertise, and predicted that the market would become more transparent, efficient, and attractive to investors in the coming period. It concluded that it is necessary to shorten the licensing process to bring more residential units online and quickly close the gap, in addition to increasing homeownership rates in partnership with the private sector.

An analysis by National Business reported that the goal is to reduce housing costs from 10 times the current annual salary to just 5 times, emphasizing the importance of political will and increased investment in resolving the crisis. The Minister of Housing had stated that the cost of housing would not exceed 30% of individuals" income.