The Ministry of Housing announced that it is offering 80 real estate investment opportunities aimed at building 110,744 housing units, as part of its policy to provide 1.5 million housing units over the next five years. Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail confirmed during his meeting yesterday with business owners at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce headquarters that his ministry is moving forward with a package of incentives for investors and developers to strengthen partnerships with the private sector.
Three tiers of incentives
Al-Haqil divided the incentives into three tiers: For government-owned land, the down payment is in the form of a bank guarantee, along with a commitment to purchase a portion of the remaining units upon project completion, as well as guarantees and banking facilities; and for private-sector land, there will be exceptions in the form of higher building density ratios, a purchase guarantee for a portion of the units, and a commitment to purchase a portion of the remaining units upon project completion; the Ministry will also participate in developing infrastructure on land subject to (white land).
Fulfilling the Promise and Launching the First Phase
During his meeting yesterday with business owners at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce headquarters, the Minister of Housing stated that the Ministry of Housing has begun to fulfill the promises it made, and has launched the first batch of the “Sakani” program, comprising 15,653 housing and financing units covering all regions of the Kingdom, as part of the 280,000 housing and financing units announced by the Ministry weeks ago as the target for 2017, which will be a major contributor to achieving the Kingdom’s vision of increasing the percentage of Saudis who own real estate.
Statistics: Demand for 1.46 million housing units
Official figures released by the General Authority for Statistics, affiliated with the Ministry, indicate that demand for housing during the 2015–2019 period under the Tenth Development Plan reached 1.46 million housing units, while the Ministry aims to provide 1.5 million units over the next five years, with the real estate sector contributing 7.3% of the gross domestic product and construction activity growing by 6.7%.
Resolving Rental Issues
The Minister of Housing also predicted that the “Ejar” program to regulate the rental sector would resolve many of the existing problems between landlords and tenants and put an end to the numerous cases pending in the courts, He noted that the rental sector accounts for half of the real estate sector, which necessitates the establishment of specific regulations and controls aimed at developing the Kingdom’s housing and real estate sector in a balanced manner.
12 Government Agencies to Serve Real Estate Developers
He also referred to the “Itmam” Developer Services Center, which includes representatives from 12 government agencies and will soon be established in most cities across the Kingdom, to help address the current challenges facing real estate developers and work to eliminate obstacles encountered by those seeking to obtain building permits and establish real estate projects. The center is responsible for implementing, monitoring, and finalizing approvals and permits for residential or residential-commercial projects, land subdivision plans, comprehensive development, the issuance of building permits, and the issuance of certificates of completion.
Wafi must be implemented according to the timeline
He spoke about the “Wafi” off-plan sales and leasing program, which aims to regulate the sale or lease of real estate units—regardless of their purpose or development method—before or during the development or construction phase, The program requires real estate developers to comply with the timeline for each project in accordance with approved models and specifications, He noted that among “Wafi’s” most important features are the licensing of off-plan sales of real estate units and raw land, as well as the licensing of the marketing and off-plan display of both interior and exterior properties.
