Mortgage loans granted by commercial banks in Saudi Arabia at the end of the third quarter of 2016 rose by approximately 202.3 billion riyals, an increase of 5.1% compared to the second quarter of this year.

According to the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority’s quarterly bulletin for the third quarter of 2016, loans granted to individuals amounted to approximately 109.5 billion riyals, an increase of 1.1% compared to the previous quarter, when they stood at 108.2 billion riyals.

Loans granted to companies in the third quarter reached 92.8 billion riyals, an increase of approximately 11% compared to the second quarter of 2016.

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) first disclosed data on real estate loans granted by banks operating in Saudi Arabia to individuals and companies in its quarterly bulletin for the fourth quarter of 2013.

According to SAMA’s report, consumer loans saw a slight increase of 0.2% quarter-on-quarter by the end of the third quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter, reaching 343.9 billion riyals.

In addition to loans for property renovation, improvement, and furnishing, consumer loans include car and equipment loans, as well as consumer loans for education, health, tourism, travel, furniture, durable goods, and other loans.

SAMA previously included an item titled "Real Estate Financing" under consumer loans; it has changed the name of this item to "Real Estate Renovation, Improvement, and Furnishing" without any significant changes to the value.